Role of Music Therapy in Dementia Patients

7001HSV FOUNDATIONS OF RESEARCH ENQUIRY
ASSESSMENT-2
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Submitted to, Submitted by,
Fifeena Jiju

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Title: To find out the role of music therapy in Dementia patients within residential care
facility
Introduction:
Dementia has been reported to be the second leading cause of mortality in Australia
among senior adults aged 65 and above. On an average, Dementia accounts for a total of
5.8% of the deaths among males and 11.35 of the deaths among the females every year
(Cohen-Mansfield, 2013). Further, as per Olsson et al. (2013), in the year 2017, Dementia
was reported to be the third leading cause of death among males and the first leading cause of
death among the females. On an average the total number of deaths were reported to be
equivalent to 13,729 deaths (Livingston et al., 2017). In addition to this, the total medical cost
of Dementia in Australia has been reported to be equivalent to $ 15 billion (de Vugt&Verhey,
2013). Also, Dementia accounts for one of the leading causes of disability burden in
Australia. Research studies further state that a total of 52% of the residents within residential
aged care facilities are patients who suffer from dementia (Knapp et al., 2013; de-
Vugt&Verhey, 2013). According to Pickens et al. (2017), it has been stated that Dementia
patients dwelling within residential care facility are at an increased risk of hospital
readmission on account of relapse of symptoms. Therefore, there is an increased need of
integrating effective evidence based care practices within the residential care facilities in
order to reduce the rate of recurrent hospitalization and at the same time ensure positive
health outcome in the elderly.
The structure of the proposal would thus comprise of identifying the existing research
gap in the evidence base and accordingly planning a research. The research would broadly
comprise of testing the effectiveness of music therapy and medication therapy on the
Dementia patients. The results would be compared against a control group that would only

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receive the conventional therapy. The results would be analyzed using the statistical analysis
software and evaluated outcome would be interpreted to validate the findings.
Literature Review:
According to Ashby-Mitchell et al. (2017), the term Dementia is used to refer to a
group of symptoms that affect the normal cognitive functioning of an individual. A collective
range of symptoms that comprise of loss of memory, intellect, poor social skills, physical
dysfunction as well as lack of rationality manifest at the onset of Dementia. As stated by
Ueda et al. (2013), patients suffering from dementia experience a three-fold increased risk of
hospital readmission. Further, old age patients suffering from Dementia are at a heightened
risk of recurrent hospitalization on account of increased dependency, disjointed care as well
as inadequate care process. As per Leven et al. (2013), it has been mentioned that the
administration of dyadic psychological intervention focusing on the community-dwelling
Dementia patients as well as their family members can help in improving the symptoms and
at the same time also help in improving the one of the functional domains of the Dementia
patients in relation to memory or cognition. Further, Mansfield (2013), stated that Dementia
is often complicated by multiple behavioural disorders such as repetitive verbalizations,
pacing and aggressive behaviour. The research study suggested that the use of a combination
of pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention can help in curing the behavioural
disorders. Mansfield (2013), stated that the administration of anti-psychotic medication in
relation to mild cognitive behavioural therapy tailored to the specific need of the patients can
help in the process of assisting recovery. Further, Livingston et al. (2017) supported the
findings of Mansfield (2013) and Leven et al. (2013) and stated that the adaption of a
combination of pharmacological and behavioural therapy can help in improving patient
outcome among Dementia patients. A research study conducted by Ueda et al. (2013)
mentioned that the use of music therapy on Dementia patients can help in improving the

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behavioural symptoms of the Dementia patients. Further, Dermott and Orrell(2013) suggested
that the administration of music therapy can effectively help in improving the mood and
reduce psychological distress among Dementia patients. Therefore, on the basis of the
evidence based scholarly literatures, it can be summarized that the use of a combination of
pharmacological intervention in relation to non-pharmacological behavioural therapy can
help in reducing psychological distress and promote positive health outcome among
Dementia patients.
Research Gap:
The research studies included in the review suggested that the symptoms of Dementia
pertaining to psychological distress and cognitive impairment can be significantly improved
by making use of a combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention
strategies (Withall et al., 2014; Laver et al., 2016; Ueda et al., 2013). Also, research studies
indicated that the use of music therapy can help in relieving the Dementia patients of
symptoms related to psychological distress (Ueda et al., 2913; McDermott et al., 2013).
However, none of the research studies included in the review mentioned about the
effectiveness of using the conventional pharmacological treatment in relation to music
therapy for envisioning relief among the Dementia patients. This can be identified as the
research gap which would attempted to be addressed with the primary research study.
Aims of study:
On the basis of the background information and the research gap, the aim of the
research study would comprise of evaluating the effectiveness of a combination of
pharmacological intervention and music therapy to ensure foster relief from the symptoms of
psychological distress and pain (Laver et al., 2016).