Exploring the Clinical Utility of the Music Therapy Assessment Tool for Awareness in Disorders of Consciousness (MATADOC) with People with End-Stage Dementia.

Dementia is a major health concern globally and cross-culturally with progressive decline in cognition, mobility and communication. There are few interventions for end-stage dementia (ESD) although music interventions have been observed to be accessible for people with mid to late-stage dementia. The lack of protocols and measures suited to ESD has limited research into the effects of music therapy.

Construct validation of two music-based assessments for people with dementia.

The purpose of this study was to substantiate the usefulness of the tasks on two music-based assessments in providing information about music cognition among people with dementia and to more fully understand the nature of this construct and its relationship to general cognition. Individuals with dementia (N = 50) received 3 evaluations: the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), the MBECF, and the RMST. Results of the study revealed significant correlations between the MMSE and both music-based assessments.

Beyond therapy: music, spirituality, and health in human experience: a review of literature.

In the current healthcare environment, there is a growing interest in the relationship between spirituality and health. The connections between music and both medicine and religious experience are well-established, but little is known about how the musical and spiritual aspects of human experience work together to influence well-being. A review of the healthcare literature from 1973-2000 identified 52 published reports on the topic of music, spirituality, and health.