Image Credit: Sally Tsoutas, Western Sydney University.
Researchers from Western Sydney University's MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development have published a new research paper and recommended guidelines for music use for people with dementia after a successful trial program.
Coinciding with National Dementia Action Week, lead researcher Dr Sandra Garrido and team have this week published their findings and recommendations in a new paper titled: 'Music Playlists for People with Dementia: Trialing A Guide for Caregivers' in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease Volume (77) Issue (1).
The trial program, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, was developed to look at the effect of music on people with dementia in aged care facilities and home based care to help manage their symptoms, and investigate how music can be utilised in standardised, yet individually tailored ways.
Dr Sandra Garrido launched the trial program after hearing reports that some people were having negative responses, or perhaps not responding to music at all, which lead the team to investigate how people's individual symptoms might be interacting with different types of music.
