The role of music listening in eliciting autobiographical memories and improving the quality of life of people with dementia and their caregivers. Hou, X., Brooks, H., Donnellan, W., & Coutinho, E. In Proceedings of the Music & lifetime memories: An interdisciplinary conference, 11, 2019. University of Durham.
The role of music listening in eliciting autobiographical memories and improving the quality of life of people with dementia and their caregivers [pdf]Paper  abstract   bibtex   1 download  
Dementia is an incurable and fatal brain-damaging disease associated with psychological and behavioural symptoms that may decrease people’s Quality of Life (QoL) (Ravi, 2011). Current pharmacological interventions are costly, entail serious side effects and, most importantly, have limited effects on the QoL of people with dementia (PWD) and their caregivers. In this context, non-pharmacological interventions are being explored as alternative (or supplementary) strategies (Overshott & Burns, 2005), and meaningful music listening is a very promising one. Although academic and clinical evidence shows that exposure to music and musical activities has positive impacts in PWD at a variety of levels (e.g., Clark, Lipe, & Bilbrey, 1998; Gerdner, 2000), less research has been directed towards the QoL outcomes of music listening for both PWD and their caregivers. The current study addresses this void by systematically reviewing primary research studies that assess the impact of music listening on a variety of outcome measures related to PWD (QoL, mood, cognitive function and behavioural symptoms), patient-caregiver relationships, and caregivers (QoL, mood, and burden). The results of this systematic review will provide a clearer picture on the effectiveness of music listening intervention in improving the QoL of PWD and their caregivers, an evaluation of the interventions methodologies, and inform the design of a new empirical study aimed at devising a systematic methodology for the application of meaningful music listening to improve the QoL of PWD and their caregivers.

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