Since the outset of COVID-19, we have become more reliant on technology to stay connected to others. Notable benefits of telehealth have been observed, including increased access to health and ...community support services for community dwelling people living with dementia and their family caregivers and diminishing barriers such as geographical location, mobility issues and increased cognitive decline. Music therapy is an evidence-based intervention for people living with dementia and has been proven to promote improved quality of life, increase social interaction and provide a form of meaningful communication and expression when language becomes difficult. This project is one of the first internationally to pilot telehealth music therapy for this population.
This mixed methods action research project has six iterative phases of planning, research, action, evaluation, and monitoring. Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) has been sought from members of The Dementia Research Advisory Team at the Alzheimer Society of Ireland at all stages of the research process to ensure the research remains relevant and applicable to those with dementia. The presentation will briefly outline the phases of the project.
Preliminary results from this ongoing research suggest that there is feasibility for telehealth music therapy to provide psychosocial support to this population. Collaboration with PPI contributors resulted in the following research priorities: (1) ensuring a person-centered approach; (2) advanced care planning using music; and (3) the signposting of music related supports for community dwelling people living with dementia. Music therapy is being piloted currently and preliminary results will be outlined.
Telehealth music therapy has the potential to complement existing rural health and community services for people living with dementia, in particular addressing social isolation. Recommendations regarding the relevance of cultural and leisure pursuits on health and well-being of people living with dementia will be discussed, particularly the development of online access.
In 1981, Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the first school district in America to replace its neighborhood schools with a "controlled choice" assignment plan, which considered parental preference and ...racial balance. This article considers the history preceding this decision to explore how and why some Americans became enamored with choice-based assignment at the expense of the neighborhood school in the late twentieth century. It argues that Cambridge's problematic experience with open enrollment in the 1960s and 1970s created a vocal, consumer-oriented, and politically active class of parents who became accustomed to choice and, by the early 1980s, dependent on its benefits. Moreover, controlled choice proved especially attractive in this university community because Cambridge had a constituency of well-educated, middle-income parents who possessed the social capital to identify the best educational opportunities for their children, but lacked the economic capital to use real estate to gain access to their preferred schools.
This position paper presents a new paradigm about the intrinsic structure and nature of arts and health practice. This paradigm is based on a variety of research experiences over twenty years working ...as a music therapist, musician, music and health practitioner, researcher and director of an arts and health programme in university teaching hospitals, community contexts, and non-governmental organizations in Ireland and the UK.The aim of this paper is to propose a new perspective on the term arts and health, to encompass all arts related activity that exists in contexts related to health. This paradigm aims to counter the artificial and defensive barriers constructed between practitioners and professional groups within the field, encourage greater respect and understanding between practitioners and assist in identifying training and development needs for the various arts professionals working in contexts related to health and well-being. It is proposed that the current commonly held assumptions surrounding definitions of arts and health and arts therapies are unhelpful and problematic and should be refined.
•This precursor study provides important insights to inform future studies in the area of arts for health and wellbeing for older adults.•Difficulties in recruiting an incident cohort and ...participation in arts based interventions were identified.•Alternative strategies to enhance feasibility are suggested.•Participants enjoyed the tailored arts based interventions ‘It brought some light into our lives, it was wonderful’.
A period of hospitalisation can have negative consequences on physical function and autonomy for older adults, including functional decline, dependency and reduced quality of life. Older adults favour activity that focuses on social connectedness, fun and achievable skills.
The primary aim of this early-stage development mixed methods study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a randomised crossover trial design and two arts-based interventions tailored for older adults recently discharged from hospital.
Community-dwelling adults, aged 65 years and older, who reported reduced mobility and less than six weeks post discharge from hospital were invited to participate in the study. Two sites were randomised to either a four-week dance or music therapy intervention, followed by a four-week washout and subsequently to the alternate intervention. Participants and stakeholders were interviewed to share their views and perspectives of the study design and interventions developed.
The arts-based interventions were acceptable and safe for participants. Randomisation was completed per protocol and no implementation issues were identified. The outcome measures used were acceptable and feasible for this group of patients and did not lead to fatigue or excessive assessment time. Participants were positive about their experience of the programme.
This early development study provides a precursor and several imperative learning points to guide and inform future research in the area. Difficulties in recruitment and attrition were in part due to the barriers encountered when recruiting an incident cohort of vulnerable individuals post hospitalisation.
This article explores the spiritual aspects of making music, with reference to music therapy practice and theory. The research questions addressed in this article are: (1) Does singing in a choir ...have spiritual health benefits? (2) How do people participating in music-making experience the spiritual and/or transcendent aspects of music? (3) Can music therapy play a role in supporting clients' spiritual health and expression?
The article presents research findings from a large international study of the health and well-being benefits of singing in a choir, in which spiritual benefits were rated by choristers. Key themes emerged, including the spiritual benefits of singing, the role of music in transcending difficulties and finding meaning in suffering. Examples of the role of music therapy in affording opportunity for spiritual expression are also presented.
The article will be of interest to music therapists and healthcare professionals interested in exploring how music-making can allow expression of spiritual beliefs and may strengthen spiritual well-being in people living with complex health conditions.
The author contends that spiritual expression is an important aspect to be considered in music therapy practice and aims to stimulate discussion and debate regarding the relationship between music and spirituality.
Introduction (including aim): There is a lack of community-based programmes for older adults in Ireland. Such activities are vital to enable older people to (re)connect after COVID-19 measures, which ...had a detrimental effect on physical function, mental health and socialisation. The aims of the preliminary phases of the Music and Movement for Health study were to refine stakeholder informed eligibility criteria, recruitment pathways and obtain preliminary measures for feasibility of the study design and programme, which incorporates research evidence, practice expertise and participant involvement.
Two Transparent Expert Consultations (TECs) (EHSREC No: 2021_09_12_EHS), and Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) meetings were conducted to refine eligibility criteria and recruitment pathways. Participants from three geographical regions in the mid-west of Ireland will be recruited and randomised by cluster to participate in either a 12-week Music and Movement for Health programme or control. We will assess the feasibility and success of these recruitment strategies by reporting recruitment rates, retention rates and participation in the programme.
Both the TECs and PPIs provided stakeholder-informed specification on inclusion/ exclusion criteria and recruitment pathways. This feedback was vital in strengthening our community-based approach as well as effecting change at the local level. The success of these strategies from phase 1 (March-June) are pending.
Through engaging with relevant stakeholders, this research aims to strengthen community systems by embedding feasible, enjoyable, sustainable and cost-effective programmes for older adults to support community connection and enhance health and wellbeing. This will, in turn, reduce demands on the healthcare system.Note: We would like to thank and acknowledge those who participated in the PPIs for their time and invaluable feedback.
Research on choirs and other forms of group singing has been conducted for several decades and there has been a recent focus on the potential health and well-being benefits, particularly in amateur ...singers. Experimental, quantitative, and qualitative studies show evidence of a range of biopsychosocial and well-being benefits to singers; however, there are many challenges to rigor and replicability. To support the advances of research into group singing, the authors met and discussed theoretical and methodological issues to be addressed in future studies. The authors are from five countries and represent the following disciplinary perspectives: music psychology, music therapy, community music, clinical psychology, educational and developmental psychology, evolutionary psychology, health psychology, social psychology, and public health. This article summarizes our collective thoughts in relation to the priority questions for future group singing research, theoretical frameworks, potential solutions for design and ethical challenges, quantitative measures, qualitative methods, and whether there is scope for a benchmarking set of measures across singing projects. With eight key recommendations, the article sets an agenda for best practice research on group singing.
To assess the impact of hospitalization on arts engagement among older people; and to assess perceptions of whether hospitals are aesthetically deprived environments.
A Survey of Aesthetic and ...Cultural Health was developed to explore the role of aesthetics before, during and after hospital. Study participants were n = 150 hospital in-patients aged >65. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data.
Attendance at arts events was an important part of life for this sample and a large drop off was noted in continuation of these activities in the year post-hospital stay. Physical health issues were the main causes but also loss of confidence and transport issues. Film, dance, and music were the most popular arts for this sample prior to hospital stay. Noise pollution caused by other patients, lack of control over TV/radio, and access to receptive arts in hospital (reading and listening to music) were important issues for patients in hospital.
This study identifies a trend for decreasing exposure to arts beginning with a hospital stay and concludes that older people may need encouragement to resume engagement in arts following a hospital stay. There is relatively limited evidence regarding the nature of, and potential benefit from, aesthetics in healthcare and limited studies with rigorous methodology, and further research is needed to understand the aesthetic preferences of older people in hospital.
An incidental/unsuspected diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (IPE) in cancer patients is a frequent occurrence. This single-institution analysis of uniformly managed patients investigates short and ...long-term outcomes and proposes a prognostic risk score, aiming to assist clinical decision-making.
Data from a prospectively recorded cohort of 234 consecutive cancer patients with IPE were analysed. Multivariate logistic regression and the Cox regression survival methods were used to identify factors with independent association with early (30-day, 3-month, 6-month) mortality and survival. Receiver operator characteristic analysis (ROC) was used to assess appropriate cut-offs for continuous variables and the fitness of prognostic scoring.
30-day, 3-month and 6-month mortality was 3.4% (
= 8), 15% (
= 35) and 31% (
= 72) respectively. Recurrence during anticoagulation occurred in 2.6% (
= 6) and major haemorrhage in 2.1% (
= 5) of the patients. A prognostic score incorporating performance status (0 vs 1-2 vs 3-4) and the presence of new or worsening symptoms, with and without the consideration of the presence of incurable malignancy, correlated with overall survival (
< .001 respectively) as well as early mortality (AUC = .821,
= .004 and AUC = .805,
= 0.006, respectively).
A simple prognostic score incorporating basic oncologic clinical assessment and self-reported symptomatology could reliably stratify the mortality risk of ambulant cancer patients and IPE.
Audit registration No. 2013.287, Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust, 29/11/2013.
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