Individualized music for people with dementia
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN59052178 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN59052178 |
| Protocol serial number | DRKS00013793 |
| Sponsor | Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena |
| Funder | National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds |
- Submission date
- 27/02/2018
- Registration date
- 04/04/2018
- Last edited
- 26/11/2024
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
The increasing prevalence of dementia raises the question of how the quality of life and care for people with dementia can be maintained and enhanced. Previous research shows that listening to personally meaningful music can promote positive emotions and memories as well as a reduction of stress, agitation, and anxiety of people with dementia. Thus, individualized music can be regarded as a promising, non-drug intervention for people with dementia. This study investigates whether listening to individualized music improves quality of life, well-being, social participation and reduces problem behaviour and stress of people with dementia. It aims at evaluating the effectiveness, applicability, and acceptance of an individualized music intervention for people with dementia in institutional care.
Who can participate?
People with dementia living in one of the cooperating nursing homes
What does the study involve?
Participants are randomly allocated to an intervention group or a control group. Over a period of 6 weeks, participants in the intervention group listen to their individualized music playlist every other day for 20 minutes. The control group participants receive standard care. In this period of time, observation of behavior is conducted for both groups every other week for 60 minutes. During the first and the last observation of behavior saliva will be collected (please note that saliva will be only collected for a subsample). External assessments by the nursing staff are conducted at four assessment points regarding well-being, social participation, problem behavior, and daily behavior of the people with dementia.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The possible benefits of listening to individualized music include improvement of quality of life and a reduction of stress levels as well as a reduction of problem behaviour of people with dementia. The intervention is expected to enhance well-being, quality of sleep and social participation as well as reduce agitation and resistance to care. A possible risk of participating is that agitated behavior increases temporarily in response to the music selected for the individualized playlists. However, project staff or staff from the nursing home monitor the participants and intervene if a negative reaction is observable during the music intervention.
Where is the study run from?
The study is being run by the Department of Counseling and Clinical Intervention, Institute of Psychology, Friedrich-Schiller University Jena. It takes place in four to five nursing homes in Thuringia (Germany).
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
January 2018 to July 2020
Who is funding the study?
National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (Germany)
Who is the main contact?
Prof. Dr. Gabriele Wilz, gabriele.wilz@uni-jena.de
Contact information
Scientific
Humboldtstraße 11
Jena
07743
Germany
Study information
| Primary study design | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Study design | Multicenter randomized controlled study |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study type | Participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | Individualized music for people with dementia - Improvement of quality of life and social participation for people with dementia in institutional care |
| Study objectives | Current hypothesis as of 22/01/2019: The trialists expect an improvement of quality of life and a reduction of problem behavior (e.g. agitation, resistance to care) as well as a reduction of stress levels (measured via saliva analyses of cortisol and alpha-amylase) for the participating people with dementia in the intervention group compared with the control group. Quality of life includes well-being, quality of sleep and social participation. In addition, they expect to observe positive short-term effects during and after the music intervention: emotional and motor changes (facial expression, body movement and other positive reactions) and an enhancement of communication, attention and orientation. Previous hypothesis: The trialists expect an improvement of quality of life and a reduction of problem behavior (e.g. agitation, resistance to care) for the participating people with dementia in the intervention group compared with the control group. Quality of life includes well-being, quality of sleep and social participation. In addition, they expect to observe positive short-term effects during and after the music intervention: emotional and motor changes (facial expression, body movement and other positive reactions) and an enhancement of communication, attention and orientation. |
| Ethics approval(s) | 1. Ethical Commission of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, 20/02/2018, ref: FSV 18/06 2. Ethical Commission of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, 14/08/2018, ref: FSV 18/39 (for ethical approval of biological measures [saliva analyses]) |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Dementia |
| Intervention | Current intervention as of 22/01/2019: Participants are randomly allocated to an intervention or a control group. Over a period of 6 weeks, the intervention group participants will listen to their individualized music playlist through headphones every other day for 20 minutes in the presence of employees of the nursing home or project staff. Observation of behavior will be conducted by the project staff every other week for 60 minutes before, during and after the music intervention. For a subsample, collection of saliva will be done during the first and the last observation of behavior sessions before and after music intervention as well as at the end of the 60 minutes’ observation period. The control group receives standard care. The observation of behavior and saliva collection will be conducted with the same frequency and duration as in the intervention group. Saliva will only be collected for a subsample. External assessments by the nursing staff will be conducted at four assessment points regarding well-being, social participation, problem behavior, and daily behavior of the people with dementia. baseline (6 weeks before treatment), pretest, posttest, follow-up (6 weeks after the treatment) Previous intervention: Participants are randomly allocated to an intervention or a control group. Over a period of 6 weeks, the intervention group participants will listen to their individualized music playlist through headphones every other day for 20 minutes in the presence of employees of the nursing home or project staff. Observation of behavior will be conducted by the project staff every other week for 60 minutes before, during and after the music intervention. The control group receives standard care. The observation of behavior will be conducted with the same frequency and duration as in the intervention group. External assessments by the nursing staff will be conducted at four assessment points regarding well-being, social participation, problem behavior, and daily behavior of the people with dementia. baseline (6 weeks before treatment), pretest, posttest, follow-up (6 weeks after the treatment) |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure(s) |
Current primary outcome measures as of 22/01/2019: |
| Key secondary outcome measure(s) |
Acceptance and applicability of the intervention measured using a self-developed questionnaire at posttest |
| Completion date | 31/07/2020 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Patient |
|---|---|
| Age group | Senior |
| Sex | All |
| Target sample size at registration | 130 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Diagnosis of dementia 2. Living in institutional care 3. Informed consent provided by the participants themselves, their relatives or their conservator |
| Key exclusion criteria | 1. Severe hearing problems 2. No informed consent provided by the participants themselves, their relatives or their conservator |
| Date of first enrolment | 15/01/2018 |
| Date of final enrolment | 31/12/2019 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Germany
Study participating centre
Jena
07743
Germany
Results and Publications
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
|---|---|
| IPD sharing plan summary | Available on request |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are/will be available upon request from Lisette Weise (lisette.weise@uni-jena.de). |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results article | 25/02/2023 | 27/02/2023 | Yes | No | |
| Results article | Stress markers | 12/09/2024 | 16/09/2024 | Yes | No |
| Results article | 24/11/2024 | 26/11/2024 | Yes | No | |
| Protocol article | protocol | 14/12/2018 | Yes | No | |
| Participant information sheet | Participant information sheet | 11/11/2025 | 11/11/2025 | No | Yes |
Editorial Notes
26/11/2024: Publication reference added.
16/09/2024: Publication reference added.
27/02/2023: Publication reference added.
22/01/2019: The following changes have been made:
1. The study hypothesis has been changed.
2. The ethics approval has been updated to include the approval for saliva analyses.
3. The intervention has been changed.
4. The primary outcome measures have been changed.
5. The target number of participants has been changed from "130" to "130, to achieve 92 randomized, with saliva samples collected from 50".
6. The plain English summary has been updated to include the analysis of saliva samples for markers of stress.
17/12/2018: Publication reference added.
