Music Therapy for Persons With Dementia

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a specific, protocol-based group music therapy intervention, relative to a verbal discussion activity. The study will examine the impact of the specified music therapy intervention on: (1) affective outcomes, (2) social engagement behaviors, and (3) observed quality of life of persons with ADRD. This study will use a within-subjects randomized crossover design involving N=30 persons with ADRD from nursing homes to examine two levels of independent variable: singing-based music therapy and verbal discussion. Both conditions will be held in small groups of 3-6 participants. Nursing homes will be randomly assigned to an intervention sequence in a counterbalanced order (either music therapy first or verbal discussion first), and participants serve as their own controls. Each condition will occur three times per week for two consecutive weeks (6 sessions per treatment). Each session lasts for 25 minutes in the afternoon. A 2-week "wash-out" period (i.e., usual treatment) will occur between conditions. Participants will remain with their assigned small group for all study activities (i.e., music therapy, verbal discussion). Board-certified music therapists (i.e., MT-BC) will lead both conditions and will complete systematic training to ensure these conditions are implemented as intended, following a manualized protocol. An independent auditor will conduct random checks to ensure the music therapists are implementing the conditions as stipulated in the protocol. Data takers will complete systematic, manualized training to ensure reliable data collection.