Music moves: Ettlingen dementia study - a pragmatic randomised controlled trial

Due to the limited effectiveness of pharmacological treatment, there is a growing need to explore non-pharmacological psychosocial interventions such as music therapy when treating the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD).

We randomised 57 nursing home residents into individual active music therapy plus standard care (aMT), individual receptive music therapy with tactile sound vibration plus standard care (rMT), or the standard care control group (CG). A trained music therapist provided 12 sessions over 6 weeks. The outcomes (BPSD; depression; quality of life; medical system usage; activities of daily living; music therapy engagement) were measured at baseline (0 week), post-intervention (6 weeks), and follow-up (12 weeks).

The results indicated small beneficial effects for BPSD in aMT and rMT at follow-up, a small beneficial effect for total musical engagement in aMT and rMT, a small negative effect for verbal communication in rMT, and a small beneficial effect for medical usage in the CG.

Both aMT and rMT methods showed promise for managing BPSD and increasing engagement during music therapy. rMT may be more suited for advanced stages of dementia. Future studies should evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of each intervention according to disease severity.