Conventional and Algorithmic Music Listening before Radiotherapy Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

Music listening is a widespread approach in the field of music therapy. In this study, the effects of music listening on anxiety and stress in patients undergoing radiotherapy are investigated. Sixty patients with breast cancer who were candidates for postoperative curative radiotherapy were recruited and randomly assigned to three groups: Melomics-Health (MH) group (music listening algorithmically created, n = 20); individualized music listening (IML) group (playlist of preferred music, n = 20); no music group (n = 20). Music listening was administered for 15 min immediately before simulation and during the first five radiotherapy sessions. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Psychological Distress Inventory (PDI) were administered before/after treatment. Cochran’s Q test and McNemar test for paired proportions were performed to evaluate if the proportion of subjects having an outcome score below the critical value by treatment and over time was different, and if there was a change in that proportion. The MH group improved in STAI and PDI. The IML group worsened in STAI at T1 and improved STAI-Trait at T2. The IML group worsened in PDI at T2. The No music group generally improved in STAI and PDI. Clinical and music listening-related implications are discussed defining possible research perspectives in this field.

511 - Examining the Impact of Individualized Music for Patients on A Geriatric Psychiatry Unit

Background:Clinicians are encouraged to use non-pharmacologic interventions first as part of the treatment of responsive behaviours due to mental health conditions. Music therapy is an example of such an intervention. In recent years, there has been an increased research focus on individualized music (IM) because it considers patient’s personal music preferences. However, the findings of whether IM listening is more beneficial than general music listening has been inconsistent.Objective:This study is to further compare the effects of IM and elevator (baseline) music listening on enjoyment behaviours of geriatric inpatients.Methods:Fifteen participants were recruited from a geriatric psychiatry unit in an acute tertiary mental health facility in British Columbia, Canada. Their mean age was 74 years and their mean MMSE was 18. Each participant attended two 30-minute music listening sessions. Each session included a 15-minute baseline music playlist and a 15-minute IM playlist. The sequence of the two playlists was counterbalanced for each participant across the two sessions. The IM playlists were created by interviewing each participant with a personalized music preference questionnaire. The baseline (elevator) playlist was simply consisted of instrumental, non-lyrical jazz and classical music and was the same for every participant. The enjoyment behaviors during the sessions for each participant were measured by the Enjoyment Behavioral Coding Scheme (EBCS), which was developed for this project based on previous literature and was shown to have a good inter rater reliability.Results:The average total scores of the EBCS across two sessions of IM and baseline music listening were calculated for each participant. Paired samples t-test was used to compare the scores. Though the mean total score of the EBCS for IM session was higher than that for the baseline session, the t-test showed the difference did not reach statistical significance.Conclusion:Participants appeared to enjoy both the IM and baseline music sessions equally.

The Effects of Individualized Music Listening on Affective, Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sundowning Symptoms of Dementia in Long-Term Care Residents

Objectives This study aimed to replicate music’s positive effects on dementia-related symptoms, determine whether a 6-month intervention would lead to greater positive outcomes than typical 3- to 4-month interventions, and examine changes in sundowning symptoms after music listening. Methods 282 nursing home residents with dementia listened to personalized music playlists 1–3 times weekly for 30 minutes across 6 months. Standardized assessments of affect, behavior, and cognition and direct observations of sundowning symptoms comprised the outcomes. Results Results documented significant improvements in residents’ general neuropsychiatric symptoms, agitation, and depression across the first 3 months, but no additional improvements across the subsequent 3 months. Seven sundowning symptoms significantly improved following music listening, with some (e.g., disengagement) being more amenable to music than others (e.g., aggression). Discussion Results support short-term individualized music listening as an effective non-pharmacological approach for improving dementia-related symptoms in nursing home residents and suggest new applications of music-related interventions.

Análise do domínio “Cognição” do Protocolo Individualized Music Therapy Assessment Profile (IMTAP)

A maioria dos instrumentos avaliativos em Musicoterapia necessitam ter sua eficácia comprovada, direcionando as intervenções de forma condizente às necessidades do indivíduo. Portanto, investigou-se se uma série de atividades criadas para avaliar o domínio “Cognição” do protocolo IMTAP em relação a uma bateria formada pelos instrumentos psicológicos normalmente utilizados em avaliação cognitiva da leitura. Com base nas relações inferidas entre linguagem musical e a linguagem escrita e nos estudos sobre a intervenção musical na dislexia, explorou-se a possibilidade de que as crianças identificadas em risco de dislexia pudessem apresentar algum comprometimento no domínio “Cognição” do IMTAP, domínio que avalia o maior número de constructos similares aos itens avaliados nos instrumentos psicológicos. As expectativas do estudo, não foram confirmadas. As correlações de Pearson, embora tenham sido significativas, foram muito baixas, sugerindo que os constructos avaliados pelo IMTAP são diferentes dos construtos dos outros testes utilizados.

Agitated Behavior of Elderly and Alternative Simple Treatments: Individualized music – A feasibility study (the ABrEAST-iM feasibility study)

Background Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) influence older persons’ quality of life. Non-pharmacological interventions such as individualized music (iM) are promising to reduce BPSD and sustain interpersonal connectedness that contributes to quality of life. The purpose of this study was to assess the practicalities (e.g., process, results) of iM activities application on older adults over 65 years of age diagnosed with dementia living in residential care facilities. Our objectives were to: a) evaluate the recruitment process; b) explore the process of iM activity implementation; c) assess the clinical significance of the outcomes. Methods A concurrent mixed methods feasibility study designed and was conducted in two residential care facilities in British Columbia, Canada to assess the practicalities (i.e., recruitment, acceptability of the intervention, adherence to it, and clinical significance) of iM activities implementation on older adults diagnosed with dementia living in residential care facilities. Data were collected from residents, their families and staff using administrative records, observations, surveys, and interviews. Our primary outcomes were affect and quality of life. Results The observed iM activities were feasible, acceptable and adhered to by residents with clinical significance. Specifically, about 47% of eligible residents, their families and staff agreed to participate in and completed the study (recruitment); approximately 86% of participants enthusiastically received and were satisfied with the iM activity (acceptability); more than 70% of participants completed at least seven of the nine iM sessions (adherence); about 55% of participants experienced an increase in positive affect scores and 29% had a decrease in negative affect scores after the intervention; more than 43% of participants had a reduction in BPSD (clinical significance). Finally, participants reported improvement of quality of life and positive effects of iM intervention and provided insights and suggestions to improve it. Conclusions Individualized music activities can be successfully implemented (i.e., feasible, acceptable, adherent) with significant clinical outcomes. Participants reported positive affect emotions, increase in quality of life and well-being. With this feasibility study, we developed a process to identify challenges and their solutions that may assist us in a following pilot study with similar iM intervention.