TITLE:
Difference in the Contents of Music Intervention to Control Agitation by Music Providers
AUTHORS:
Heeok Park
KEYWORDS:
Music, Agitation, Dementia
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.5 No.8,
August
28,
2015
ABSTRACT: Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the contents of music intervention studies between the music therapists and non-music therapists who endeavored to control agitation in patients with dementia, and to provide meaningful ideas to improve the music interventions by music providers. Method: This study is a review study by searching CINAHL, MEDLINE, and PsychINFO for the keywords, “agitation” and “music,” which are used in the searches. Results: A total of 30 studies of music intervention (7 studies about music therapists and 23 studies about non-music therapists) were included for the review. The studies about music therapists had a more reasonable sample size, variety of music activities, and comparison groups. The studies of non-music therapists were provided by nurses, researchers, recreational therapists, and trained nursing assistants and they provided music using background music at a scheduled time for care, such as mealtimes and bathing times. Conclusions: Studies on music interventions need to have a more rigorous research design, such as randomized controlled trials for the future studies. Furthermore, there is a need for multi-disciplinary music intervention studies by music providers who have different types of educational backgrounds and clinical experiences.