Experiences of participant and public involvement in an international randomized controlled trial for people living with dementia and their informal caregivers.

Background: This study was initiated and co-designed by a Participant and Public Involvement (PPI) group attached to HOMESIDE, a randomized controlled trial that investigated music and reading interventions for people living with dementia and their family caregivers across five countries: Australia, Germany, Norway, Poland, and the UK. The aim was to capture experiences of PPI across the five countries, explore the benefits and challenges of PPI in dementia research, and identify contributions made to the study.

Methods: We surveyed PPI members and academic researchers who collaborated on the HOMESIDE study.

Characteristics, outcomes, facilitators and barriers for psychosocial interventions on inpatient mental health dementia wards: a systematic review.

Background: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines state that psychosocial interventions should be the first line of treatment for people with dementia who are experiencing distress behaviours, such as agitation and depression. However, little is known about the characteristics and outcomes of psychosocial interventions or the facilitators and barriers to implementation on inpatient mental health dementia wards which provide care for people with dementia who are often experiencing high levels of distress.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted on MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, and Scopus in May 2023, following PRISMA guidelines.

The HOMESIDE Study-A Research Project to Support People Living With Dementia and Their Family Caregivers: Preliminary Report on Reading Intervention.

The behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) can be challenging for family caregivers to cope with, leading to distress and fatigue. It is therefore important to offer effective strategies to reduce the impact of BPSD. The HOMESIDE randomized controlled trial (RCT) was testing purposefully developed interventions to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of dyads of people with dementia and family caregivers as a result of reduction of BPSD.

Home-based family caregiver-delivered music and reading interventions for people living with dementia (HOMESIDE trial): an international randomised controlled trial.

Background: Music interventions provided by qualified therapists within residential aged care are effective at attenuating behavioural and psychological symptoms (BPSD) of people with dementia (PwD). The impact of music interventions on dementia symptom management when provided by family caregivers is unclear.

Methods: We implemented a community-based, large, pragmatic, international, superiority, single-masked randomised controlled trial to evaluate if caregiver-delivered music was superior to usual care alone (UC) on reducing BPSD of PwD measured by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q).

Intra- and inter-brain coupling and activity dynamics during improvisational music therapy with a person with dementia: an explorative EEG-hyperscanning single case study.

Objective: Real-life research into the underlying neural dynamics of improvisational music therapy, used with various clinical populations, is largely lacking. This single case study explored within-session differences in musical features and in within- and between-brain coupling between a Person with Dementia (PwD) and a music therapist during a music therapy session.

Methods: Dual-EEG from a music therapist and a PwD (male, 31 years) was recorded.

Learning to use music as a resource: the experiences of people with dementia and their family care partners participating in a home-based skill-sharing music intervention: a HOMESIDE sub-study.

An increasing number of people with dementia receive informal care from family members to help them remain living in the community. Music therapy is particularly beneficial for supporting the wellbeing of people living with dementia. However, little is known about how music therapy might support people with dementia and their family care partners as dyads.

Music therapy, neural processing, and craving reduction: an RCT protocol for a mixed methods feasibility study in a Community Substance Misuse Treatment Service.

Background: Music therapy has been shown to be effective for multiple clinical endpoints associated with substance use disorder such as craving reduction, emotion regulation, depression, and anxiety, but there are a lack of studies investigating those effects in UK Community Substance Misuse Treatment Services (CSMTSs). Furthermore, there is a demand for identifying music therapy mechanisms of change and related brain processes for substance use disorder treatment. The present study aims to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of music therapy and a pre-test, post-test, and in-session measurement battery in a CSMTS.

Pain and mild cognitive impairment among adults aged 50 years and above residing in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Previous studies on the association between pain and cognitive decline or impairment have yielded mixed results, while studies from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) or specifically on mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are scarce. Thus, we investigated the association between pain and MCI in LMICs and quantified the extent to which perceived stress, sleep/energy problems, and mobility limitations explain the pain/MCI relationship.

Methods: Data analysis of cross-sectional data from six LMICs from the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) were performed.

Statistical analysis plan for HOMESIDE: a randomised controlled trial for home-based family caregiver-delivered music and reading interventions for people living with dementia.

Background: Most people with dementia live in the community, not in residential care. Therefore, quality informal care for them is critical for managing behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). Music therapy has been shown to reduce BPSD.

Recruitment approaches and profiles of consenting family caregivers and people living with dementia: A recruitment study within a trial.

Background: While studies have identified strategies that are useful for recruiting people living with dementia, none have focused on psychosocial interventions involving arts therapies, or have examined the profiles of older people living in the community who consent or decline participation, particularly during a global pandemic. We aimed to identify the most effective recruitment strategies according to participant characteristics and transnational differences and develop a profile of consenting and non-consenting participants.

Methods: Recruitment teams in Australia, Norway, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom, recorded participants' source of study awareness and characteristics of consenting and non-consenting participants.

Investigating the impact of music therapy on two in-patient psychiatric wards for people living with dementia: retrospective observational study.

Background: Music therapy can lift mood and reduce agitation for people living with dementia (PwD) in community and residential care settings, potentially reducing the prevalence of distress behaviours. However, less is known about the impact of music therapy on in-patient psychiatric wards for PwD.

Aims: To investigate the impact of music therapy on two in-patient psychiatric wards for PwD.

The HOMESIDE Music Intervention: A Training Protocol for Family Carers of People Living with Dementia.

The number of people living with dementia (PwD) worldwide is expected to double every 20 years. Many continue living at home, receiving support from family caregivers who may experience significant stress, simultaneously to that of the PwD. Meaningful and effective home-based interventions to support PwD and their caregivers are needed.

Influential factors of spousal relationship quality in couples living with dementia - A narrative synthesis systematic review.

Aim: The aim of this systematic review is to identify factors that influence relationship quality in couples living with dementia. Previous research has shown how maintaining a positive spousal relationship quality is important for quality of life and coping for both the caregiver and the person with dementia. Knowledge of influential factors could contribute to a deeper understanding of the value of a couple-centred clinical practice and research, within the field of dementia.

A qualitative systematic review of the experiences of sharing music for people living with dementia and their family care partners: the thread of connection.

Background: There is a global need for interventions that support the wellbeing of people living with dementia and their family care partners. Studies show that shared musical activities may achieve this. Our systematic review aimed to synthesise existing research exploring dyads' experiences of shared musical activities across a range of contexts.

Strategies for Recruiting People With Dementia to Music Therapy Studies: Systematic Review.

Positive effects of music therapy for people with dementia and their family carers are reported in a growing number of studies. However, small sample sizes or low recruitment rates often limit the success of these research studies. More adequately powered evidence-based studies are needed to impact policy and funding in dementia care.

Is loneliness associated with mild cognitive impairment in low- and middle-income countries?

Background: Loneliness may be a risk factor for mild cognitive impairment but studies on this topic are scarce, particularly from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the association between loneliness and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in six LMICs (China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa).

Methods: Cross-sectional, community-based, nationally representative data from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) were analyzed.

HOMESIDE: home-based family caregiver-delivered music and reading interventions for people living with dementia: protocol of a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Pharmacological interventions to address behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) can have undesirable side effects, therefore non-pharmacological approaches to managing symptoms may be preferable. Past studies show that music therapy can reduce BPSD, and other studies have explored how formal caregivers use music in their caring roles. However, no randomised study has examined the effects on BPSD of music interventions delivered by informal caregivers (CGs) in the home setting.

Music Interventions for Dementia and Depression in ELderly care (MIDDEL): protocol and statistical analysis plan for a multinational cluster-randomised trial.

Introduction: In older adults, dementia and depression are associated with individual distress and high societal costs. Music interventions such as group music therapy (GMT) and recreational choir singing (RCS) have shown promising effects, but their comparative effectiveness across clinical subgroups is unknown. This trial aims to determine effectiveness of GMT, RCS and their combination for care home residents and to examine heterogeneity of treatment effects across subgroups.

International multicentre randomised controlled trial of improvisational music therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder: TIME-A study.

Background: Preliminary studies have indicated that music therapy may benefit children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Objectives: To examine the effects of improvisational music therapy (IMT) on social affect and responsiveness of children with ASD.

Design: International, multicentre, three-arm, single-masked randomised controlled trial, including a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-funded centre that recruited in London and the east of England.

Effects of Improvisational Music Therapy vs Enhanced Standard Care on Symptom Severity Among Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: The TIME-A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Music therapy may facilitate skills in areas affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such as social interaction and communication.

Objective: To evaluate effects of improvisational music therapy on generalized social communication skills of children with ASD.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Assessor-blinded, randomized clinical trial, conducted in 9 countries and enrolling children aged 4 to 7 years with ASD.

Home-based neurologic music therapy for arm hemiparesis following stroke: results from a pilot, feasibility randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of a randomized controlled trial to evaluate music therapy as a home-based intervention for arm hemiparesis in stroke.

Design: A pilot feasibility randomized controlled trial, with cross-over design. Randomization by statistician using computer-generated, random numbers concealed in opaque envelopes.

Home-based neurologic music therapy for upper limb rehabilitation with stroke patients at community rehabilitation stage-a feasibility study protocol.

Background: Impairment of upper limb function following stroke is more common than lower limb impairment and is also more resistant to treatment. Several lab-based studies with stroke patients have produced statistically significant gains in upper limb function when using musical instrument playing and techniques where rhythm acts as an external time-keeper for the priming and timing of upper limb movements.

Methods: For this feasibility study a small sample size of 14 participants (3-60 months post stroke) has been determined through clinical discussion between the researcher and study host in order to test for management, feasibility and effects, before planning a larger trial determined through power analysis.

Individual music therapy for managing neuropsychiatric symptoms for people with dementia and their carers: a cluster randomised controlled feasibility study.

Background: Previous research highlights the importance of staff involvement in psychosocial interventions targeting neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia. Music therapy has shown potential effects, but it is not clear how this intervention can be programmed to involve care staff within the delivery of patients' care. This study reports initial feasibility and outcomes from a five month music therapy programme including weekly individual active music therapy for people with dementia and weekly post-therapy video presentations for their carers in care homes.

A systematic review of music therapy practice and outcomes with acute adult psychiatric in-patients.

Background And Objectives: There is an emerging evidence base for the use of music therapy in the treatment of severe mental illness. Whilst different models of music therapy have been developed in mental health care, none have specifically accounted for the features and context of acute in-patient settings. This review aimed to identify how music therapy is provided for acute adult psychiatric in-patients and what outcomes have been reported.