Press Release for Beth Sholom Music Therapy Research with older adults living with dementia, Becky Watson, MBA, Board Certified Music Therapist, Owner, Music for Wellness, LLC
We are pleased to share the results from the Beth Sholom Music Therapy research lead by Hamid R. Okhravi, MD, and Wayles Haynes (second year medical student) from Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) on the feasibility on how Beth Sholom residents living with mild, moderate or severe dementia could benefit from music therapy and music listening to personalized music.
The results proved the feasibility of music therapy in a small number of nursing home and assisted-living residents with dementia. However, there is not enough statistical evidence to conclude that there is a significant difference in the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), the Alzheimer’s Disease Related Quality of Life (ADRQL), the Zarit Burden Interview and Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Nursing Home (NPI-NH ADRQL. The scores at baseline and six weeks after intervention implementation—either for the total sample overall or between any of the group comparisons.
Possible reasons for this include: small sample size, high attrition, lack of initial severe behavioral issues masking therapy effects, or lack of efficacy of the type of music therapy that was implemented.
Future goals: With the results of this pilot feasibility study, we plan to implement a second round of our project with larger number of participants (multi-site project), longer duration of intervention (12 weeks), and inclusion of participants with higher levels of challenging behaviors at baseline (higher average NPI-NH scores). We also plan to include more objective measures such as actigraphy (sleep measurement), measurement of vital signs, and measurement of serum inflammatory markers such as CRP levels before and after intervention. We will also measure the effect of music therapy on psychotropic medication reduction such as antipsychotic medications.
Thank you to Dr. Okhravi for his mentorship and to EVMS students, Beth Sholom Staff, Care Partners and Volunteers for your support and interest in enriching the lives of the Beth Sholom residents through music.
Thank you for the generous financial contribution of the Beth Sholom Auxiliary, Fraternal Order of the Eagles, and Virginia Beach Task Force on Aging in support of the Music Therapy Research.
If your memory care community is interested in learning more and would like to be considered for the second round of music therapy research, please contact me my emailing; becky@music4wellness.net.
Becky Watson is passionate about serving older adults, care partners and health care professionals with evidenced based Music Therapy programs and Music Wellness programs as the owner of Music for Wellness,LLC. After serving her country for over 25 years and achieving the rank of Navy Captain, Becky completed her Music Therapy degree at Loyola, New Orleans and completed a Music Therapy Internship at Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, VA.
More information on Beth Sholom may be found at:
http://bethsholomvillage.org
http://Music4Wellness.net Music for YOUR Wellness, Music for Wellness, LLC, 757-563-3488
Email: info@music4wellness.net
For more information on Music Therapy, check out our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/MusicForYourWellness
