Music Interventions for Depression in Older Adults

Running head: MUSIC INTERVENTIONS FOR DEPRESSION IN ADULTS
MUSIC INTERVENTIONS FOR DEPRESSION IN ADULTS
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1MUSIC INTERVENTIONS FOR DEPRESSION IN ADULTS
Music interventions for older adults suffering from depression
Introduction
Late life depression can have serious consequences and hence is an important public
health problem. It is associated with an increased risk of mortality and morbidity in the older
adults, increased risk of suicides and decreased physical, cognitive, greater self-neglect and
decreased social functioning of the adults (Fiske, Wetherell & Gatz, 2009).
While pharmacotherapy and certain alternative treatments have been found to be effective in
treating the depression in the older patients, this paper on the other hand focuses on the
effectiveness of the music therapy in older adults living in aged care homes.
Discussion
Depression in the older adults differ from that of the depressions in the earlier years. The
etiology, presentation, risk and other protective factors are the aspects that attributes to the
depression in the older adults (Fiske, Wetherell & Gatz, 2009).
Half of the geriatric patients suffer from major depression due to the experiencing of a
new condition arising from old age. Depression in the older adults in aged cares suffer from
more depression and anxiety as compared to that of the one living with their own families. As
per Fiske et al., (2009) more than half of the residents of the aged care homes face from
depressive symptoms of depression , feel uninterested in activities, hopeless about the future,

2MUSIC INTERVENTIONS FOR DEPRESSION IN ADULTS
guilt about the past and may even desire death. It has been found that the incidence rate of
suicide is as high as 46 % in older adults living in the residential care unit. According to Choi et
al., (2008), people entering in the residential care unit have been found to be older than those
living with their families. They generally suffer from more complex care needs due to their
cognitive and physical difficulties. They can also face difficulties in adjusting with the changes
setting or to the loss if the independence and routine (Choi et al.2008). Furthermore the physical
deterioration, chronic illness and social isolation and loneliness makes this group of people
susceptible to developing depression.
In light of this alarming statistics specific interventions should be taken to mitigate the
problem of depression and anxiety among the elderly people. There is a requirement of proper
aged care support and peer group to address the problem. The paper reflects upon the
effectiveness of the music therapy in reducing the depression among the older adults.
Since the earlier period of civilization, music has been used to heal the soul and the body
and to express whatever that cannot be articulated by words. The history of the music therapy
can be dated back to 1940, where community musicians used to visit the traumatized and
institutionalized soldiers after World War II. According to Maratos ,(2008), positive physical as
well as emotional responses has been noted in patients subjected to music therapy.
In a study by Leubner and Hinterberger, (2017), 89 people within the age 18 to 50 with
depression and receiving the standard pharmacological treatment has been taken for the study.
One group received that same standardized psychotherapist treatment and the other group
received an additional 20 bi-weekly music therapy sessions lasting for 60 minutes. As per the
depression scores measured at the month end, participants who received the music therapy