Usability, Appeal, and Relevance of Music and Wellbeing Training for Carers of People with Dementia: A Think-Aloud Study.

Background: Personalized music listening can be highly effective in supporting people experiencing changes in mood and behavior due to Alzheimer's disease and other conditions causing dementia. However, a lack of staff education can be a barrier to effective use of music in residential aged care.

Objective: This study investigates the usability, appeal and relevance of an online training course designed to help care staff develop personalized music programs for people living with dementia in their care.

Encouraging help-seeking and engagement in a mental health app: What young people want.

Although many young people evince a preference for digital mental health support over face to face, engagement with smartphone apps for mental health remains relatively low, particularly in young people not accessing professional support services. While some of this can be attributed to stigma or embarrassment, there is also a need for developers and researchers to investigate features which promote long-term usage. s is a music-based smartphone app that has been co-designed with young people to help them develop effective self-management strategies for mood through music listening.

Creativity in lockdown: Understanding how music and the arts supported mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic by age group.

Recent research has indicated that many people around the world turned to artistic creative activities (ACAs) to support their mental health during COVID-19 lockdowns. However, studies have also shown that the negative psychosocial impacts of the pandemic have disproportionately affected young people, suggesting that the use of ACAs to support mental health in lockdown may have varied across age groups. This study investigated how Australians in four different age groups (18-24, 25-34, 35-54, and 55+) engaged in ACAs to support their mental health during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns.

Developing online training in using music for carers of people with dementia: A focus group study.

Objective: This study aimed to identify the core content and design issues in developing an online training course in the effective use of music for people with dementia.

Methods: A co-design approach was taken in which focus groups were conducted with aged care staff and family caregivers (n = 17; 76.5% female).

The Role of Artistic Creative Activities in Navigating the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia.

During the COVID-19 pandemic some Australians turned to artistic creative activities (ACAs) as a way of managing their own mental health and well-being. This study examined the role of ACAs in regulating emotion and supporting mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, and also attempted to identify at-risk populations. We proposed that (1) participants would use ACAs as avoidance-based emotion regulation strategies; and (2) music engagement would be used for emotion regulation.

Benefits, Challenges and Solutions for Implementing Personalised Music Playlist Programs in Residential Aged Care in Australia.

Introduction: Residential aged care facilities face the immense challenge of adapting to the increasingly high needs of their residents, while delivering personalised, holistic care. There is considerable evidence that music can provide an affordable, accessible way to reduce changes in behaviour associated with dementia, in order to meet these standards of care. However, a number of barriers exist to the effective implementation of music programs in long-term aged care facilities.

Music playlists for people with dementia: Qualitative evaluation of a guide for caregivers.

This study aimed to evaluate a set of guidelines for music use with people with dementia. A secondary aim was to identify challenges and barriers to implementation of music interventions by caregivers. Caregivers ( = 16) were interviewed after implementing a music listening programme based on the guidelines with 29 people with dementia in home-care and aged care facilities.

Music Playlists for People with Dementia: Trialing A Guide for Caregivers.

Background: Music programs have the potential to provide an effective non-pharmacological tool for caregivers to reduce depression and agitation and increase quality of life in people with dementia. However, where such programs are not facilitated by a trained music therapist, caregivers need greater access to information about how to use music most effectively in response to key challenges to care, and how to pre-empt and manage adverse responses.

Objective: This study reports on the trial of a Guide for use of music with 45 people with dementia and their caregivers in residential care facilities and home-based care.

What Works and What Doesn't Work? A Systematic Review of Digital Mental Health Interventions for Depression and Anxiety in Young People.

A major challenge in providing mental health interventions for young people is making such interventions accessible and appealing to those most in need. Online and app-based forms of therapy for mental health are burgeoning. It is therefore crucial to identify features that are most effective and engaging for young users.

Holding momentum: a grounded theory study of strategies for sustaining living at home in older persons.

: Government strategies are putting increasing emphasis on sustaining the capacity of older persons to continue living independently in their own homes to ease strain on aged care services. The aim of this study was to understand the experiences and strategies that older people utilize to remain living at home from their own perspective. : A grounded theory methodology was used to explore the actions and strategies used by persons over the age of 65 to enable them to remain living in their own homes.

Exploring the Perspectives of Older People on the Concept of Home.

Objectives: Continuing to live at home is arguably one of the most important challenges older persons face as they age. The aim of this study was to clarify how older adults conceptualise home through age-related lifestyle changes.

Methods: Principles from grounded theory were used to examine the perspectives of 21 older adults obtained from three focus group discussions and 10 in-depth semistructured interviews.

Music Use for Mood Regulation: Self-Awareness and Conscious Listening Choices in Young People With Tendencies to Depression.

The current study explored the circumstances in which seven young people with a tendency to depression chose different styles of music to listen to, and their level of awareness of the impact of their music listening habits on mood and wellbeing. A model of various pathways through music use was developed that may explain why music listening intentions in young people do not always align with their wellbeing outcomes. We suggest that the relationship between intentions and outcomes are mediated by differing levels of self-awareness and insight into the mood regulation processes occurring during music listening.

Musical Features and Affective Responses to Personalized Playlists in People With Probable Dementia.

Objectives: Personalized music playlists are increasingly being utilized in aged care settings. This study aims to investigate how musical features influence the affective response to music of people with probable dementia.

Methods: A factorial experiment (2 × 2 × 3) was conducted to investigate the influence of tempo (fast, slow), mode (major, minor), and lyrics (none, negative, positive).

Music and Dementia: Individual Differences in Response to Personalized Playlists.

Personalized music playlists are increasingly being used in health-care contexts to address the psychological and behavioral symptoms in people with dementia. However, there is little understanding of how people with different mental health histories and symptoms respond differently to music. A factorial experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of depression, anxiety, apathy, and cognitive decline on affective response to music.

The use of music in aged care facilities: A mixed-methods study.

Music is frequently used in aged care, being easily accessible and cost-effective. Research indicates that certain types of musical engagement hold greater benefits than others. However, it is not clear how effectively music is utilized in aged care facilities and what the barriers are to its further use.

The Use of Music Playlists for People with Dementia: A Critical Synthesis.

The use of pre-recorded music to ease behavioral and psychological symptoms associated with dementia is popular in health-care contexts in both formal music therapy settings and in non-therapist led interventions. However, further understanding of how non-therapist led interventions compare to therapist led interventions is needed. This paper reviews 28 studies that used pre-recorded music with people with dementia using a critical interpretive synthesis model.

Factors underlying cognitive decline in old age and Alzheimer's disease: the role of the hippocampus.

There are many factors that strongly influence the aetiology, development, and progression of cognitive decline in old age, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD). These factors include not only different personality traits and moods but also lifestyle patterns (e.g.

Group Rumination: Social Interactions Around Music in People with Depression.

One of the most important roles that music serves in human society is the promotion of social relationships and group cohesion. In general, emotional experiences tend to be amplified in group settings through processes of social feedback. However, previous research has established that listening to sad music can intensify negative emotions in people with tendencies to rumination and depression.