Victorian College of the Arts - Research Publications
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 4 of 4
-
ItemNo Preview AvailableHome-based family caregiver-delivered music and reading interventions for people living with dementia (HOMESIDE trial): an international randomised controlled trial(ELSEVIER, 2023-11)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). The study included an active control (reading). People with dementia (NPI-Q score ≥6) and their caregiver (dyads) from one of five countries were randomly allocated to caregiver-delivered music, reading, or UC with a 1:1:1 allocation stratified by site. Caregivers received three online protocolised music or reading training sessions delivered by therapists and were recommended to provide five 30-min reading or music activities per week (minimum twice weekly) over 90-days. The NPI-Q severity assessment of PwD was completed online by masked assessors at baseline, 90- (primary) and 180-days post-randomisation and analysed on an intention-to-treat basis using a likelihood-based longitudinal data analysis model. ACTRN12618001799246; ClinicalTrials.govNCT03907748. FINDINGS: Between 27th November 2019 and 7th July 2022, we randomised 432 eligible of 805 screened dyads (music n = 143, reading n = 144, UC n = 145). There was no statistical or clinically important difference in the change from baseline BPSD between caregiver-delivered music (-0.15, 95% CI -1.41 to 1.10, p = 0.81) or reading (-1.12, 95% CI -2.38 to 0.14, p = 0.082) and UC alone at 90-days. No related adverse events occurred. INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggested that music interventions and reading interventions delivered by trained caregivers in community contexts do not decrease enduring BPSD symptoms. FUNDING: Our funding was provided by National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia; The Research Council of Norway; Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany; National Centre for Research and Development, Poland; Alzheimer's Society, UK, as part of the Joint Programme for Neurodegenerative Diseases consortia scheme.
-
ItemRecruitment approaches and profiles of consenting family caregivers and people living with dementia: A recruitment study within a trial(ELSEVIER INC, 2023-04)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. Distributions of participants 'consenting to participate' were compared and logistic regressions were used to estimate the odds ratios. RESULTS: Consenting female caregivers were disproportionally represented. Study awareness differed between countries but overall, most expressions of interest to participate were derived from referrals from professionals or organisations, or from databases of people wanting to participate in research. Troughs in recruitment rates occurred during Northern Hemisphere summer vacation periods, and during Christmas periods. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that recruiting for a trial with community-dwelling family caregivers and people living with dementia is challenging, especially during a global pandemic. While spousal caregivers comprised the highest proportion of dyads recruited, overall spousal caregivers were more reluctant to consent to participate than adult child caregivers. More targeted recruitment strategies designed for minority groups are also needed to ensure broader representation in dementia treatment studies.
-
ItemCorrigendum: What young people think about music, rhythm and trauma: An action research study.(Frontiers Media SA, 2022)[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.905418.].
-
ItemWhat Young People Think About Music, Rhythm and Trauma: An Action Research Study(FRONTIERS MEDIA SA, 2022-06-14)A number of popular theories about trauma have suggested rhythm has potential as a mechanism for regulating arousal levels. However, there is very little literature examining this proposal from the perspective of the young people who might benefit. This action research project addresses this gap by collaborating with four groups of children in the out-of-home-care system to discover what they wanted from music therapists who brought a strong focus on rhythm-based activities. The four music therapy groups took place over a 12 month period and each cycle of action and reflection led to adjustments in what activities were offered, as well as exploring different levels of structure and ways of building relationships in the groups. The initial group incorporated a strong emphasis on highly structured rhythm-based activities, but young people found the format difficult to engage with. The second cycle included more opportunities for creativity and self-direction within semi-structured activities which children reported enjoying, but too much freedom also became overwhelming at times. The two groups in the third cycle seemed to balance structure and responsiveness successfully but were also influenced by the introduction of individual sessions prior to group commencement, which was designed to contribute to safety and trust building. Final reflections on the role of rhythm in supporting young people who have had adverse experiences were centred around the ideas of co-regulation. This was qualitatively different to our expectations that practicing rhythm-based activities would lead to an expanded window of tolerance that resulted in less time being spent in either hypo-arousal or hyper-arousal. Instead of entraining to an external rhythm, young people felt safe when their rhythms were matched, even if they were irregular, out of time and unpredictable. The small moments of co-regulation resulted in pleasure, comfort, satisfaction and peace and these moments were highly valued by the young people, who described just wanting to be relaxed and happy. Although not as rhythm-specific as the literature might suggest, music making with trusted adults helped the young people in this study feel more content.