Effects of individual music therapy on behavior problems and quality of life in people with dementia in nursing homes: A randomized controlled trial

POS2-08
Behavioral problems, such as agitation, depression, apathy and agression are highly prevalent in people with dementia. Thes problems have a negative impact on quality of life of both people with dementia and their caregivers and are difficult to manage in healthcare. Psychosocial interventions, such as individual music therapy, to reduce behavioral problems are more preferred than the use pf psychotropic medication. An individual music therapy intervention and a receptive music interventionwere developes for people with dementia living in nursing homes with symptoms of problem behavior. Teh music therapy intervention was characterized by active use of music which was constantly tailored to the needs of the person with dementia by the music therapist. The receptive music intervention was characterized by passive listening to personalized music through an iPod with headphones. A randomized controlled trial (N = 172) with three groups, i.e. individual music therapy, receptive music intervention , and control group, was applied in order to examine the effects on problem behavior and quality of life using multilevel analyses. The interventions were given during 3 weeks, 3 times a week on non-consecutive days during 45 minutes. The music interventions and the results will be presented at the congress.