The effects of a music therapy intervention on agitation in people with dementia

The purpose of this dissertation study was to test the effectiveness of a music therapy intervention for reducing agitation and improving engagement and function in people with dementia. Using a convenience sampling method, 40 nursing home residents were selected to participate in the study. Data were collected using a demographic form, the Mini-Mental State Examination, an engagement variable coding form, a Functional Behavioral Profile, and the Wisconsin Agitation Inventory. The residents had an average age of 86 years, had lived in the facility an average of 28 (±4.3) months, were predominantly White (95%), and were predominantly women (90%). The design of the study was an experimental pretest-posttest design with random assignment to groups to test the differences between the experimental and control groups. The participants were randomly assigned to either the treatment group, which consisted of music therapy sessions three times for 1 week, or the control group, which watched a nature video three times for 1 week. The outcome variables for the study included agitation, engagement in the activity, and functional behavior. Although there were some positive trends, there was not a statistically significant difference in agitation between the treatment and control groups. The treatment group at posttest had statistically significantly higher scores in engagement and social functioning than the control group. The findings indicate a need for future research with an adequate sample size and treatment dose of music therapy.