Evaluation of the music therapy program interventions on agitated behavior for people with dementia in Taiwan institutional care

ABSTRACT

Music therapy can help social workers deal with negative behaviors and symptoms of dementia in older adults without drugs or physical restraints, thereby improving the quality of care. This study tested the effectiveness of music therapy activities for improving agitated behavior in older adults with dementia living in long‐term care institutions. The study was quasi‐experimental. Eighty older adults were recruited from two nursing homes. A purposive sampling strategy was used to select subjects aged 65 years and above with dementia and agitated behavioral tendencies residing in nursing homes. The music therapy program comprised 90 minute sessions 3 times a week for two months. The program evaluation focused on one criterion: the agitated behavior of participants at the beginning and end of the music theory program, which was measured using a structured scale. Ultimately, the music therapy program showed promise for improving agitated behavior in older adults with dementia living in nursing homes. Incorporating music therapy activities into social work may help make long‐term care more diverse and innovative.

Acknowledgements

Sincere appreciation is the administrators and staff of the two nursing homes for their support and assistance, and to the 80 wonderful older adults for their generous participation.

Contributors

All authors meet the criteria for authorship, have approved the final article, and all those entitled to authorship are listed as authors

Disclosure statement

The authors have confirmed that all authors meet the ICMJE criteria for authorship credit (www.icmje.org/ethical_1author.html), as follows: (1) substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (3) final approval of the version to be published.

Human subjects

National Cheng Kung University [CKU-IRB-2020-287].

Additional information

Funding

The author received no specific funding for this work.