TY - JOUR

T1 - The effects of singing interventions on quality of life, mood and levels of agitation in community-dwelling people living with dementia

T2 - A quantitative systematic review

AU - Polden, Megan

AU - Ahmed, Faraz

AU - Brown, Heather

AU - Faulkner, Thomas

AU - Giebel, Clarissa

AU - Hanna, Kerry

AU - Holland, Carol

PY - 2024/8/15

Y1 - 2024/8/15

N2 - Background and Aims: Music-based interventions have been found to benefit people living with dementia and have positive impacts on cognition and well-being. Most people with dementia live in the community and compared to people with dementia in residential care often have less access to music-based interventions. There are many forms of music interventions and singing has shown particular promise; in the realm of music interventions. It is important to determine what aspects of music interventions yield the most benefits for people with dementia. This review aimed to synthesise evidence on the impacts of singing interventions on quality of life, mood and neuropsychiatric symptoms for community-dwelling people with dementia. Methods: We systematically searched three electronic databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE and Web of Science) for studies reporting on singing interventions with community-dwelling people with dementia. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they reported on a singing intervention with people with dementia that included an outcome measure of quality of life, mood or agitation. Fourteen publications were identified and included in this review, with a total of n=361 people with dementia.Results: Despite some inconsistencies across the literature, evidence suggests that singing interventions led to an improvement in mood and a reduction in agitation levels in people with dementia. There was no strong evidence to suggest that singing interventions led to significant improvements in quality of life. Conclusions: This review highlights the potential of singing interventions as an effective psychosocial intervention for community-dwelling people with dementia. For key developments in this area, we urge that future studies include a control group where possible which will allow for more robust examinations of singing interventions and allow intervention effects to be distinguished from general deterioration in dementia symptoms over time.

AB - Background and Aims: Music-based interventions have been found to benefit people living with dementia and have positive impacts on cognition and well-being. Most people with dementia live in the community and compared to people with dementia in residential care often have less access to music-based interventions. There are many forms of music interventions and singing has shown particular promise; in the realm of music interventions. It is important to determine what aspects of music interventions yield the most benefits for people with dementia. This review aimed to synthesise evidence on the impacts of singing interventions on quality of life, mood and neuropsychiatric symptoms for community-dwelling people with dementia. Methods: We systematically searched three electronic databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE and Web of Science) for studies reporting on singing interventions with community-dwelling people with dementia. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they reported on a singing intervention with people with dementia that included an outcome measure of quality of life, mood or agitation. Fourteen publications were identified and included in this review, with a total of n=361 people with dementia.Results: Despite some inconsistencies across the literature, evidence suggests that singing interventions led to an improvement in mood and a reduction in agitation levels in people with dementia. There was no strong evidence to suggest that singing interventions led to significant improvements in quality of life. Conclusions: This review highlights the potential of singing interventions as an effective psychosocial intervention for community-dwelling people with dementia. For key developments in this area, we urge that future studies include a control group where possible which will allow for more robust examinations of singing interventions and allow intervention effects to be distinguished from general deterioration in dementia symptoms over time.

U2 - 10.1177/14713012241273837

DO - 10.1177/14713012241273837

M3 - Journal article

JO - Dementia

JF - Dementia

SN - 1471-3012

ER -