Effects of a person-centered music-based intervention in the rehabilitation of older adults with mild to moderate dementia.

Background: With the progressive population aging, dementia is reaching epidemic dimensions worldwide. Non-pharmacological music-based interventions can have a positive impact on the rehabilitation of older adults with dementia. Nevertheless, there are few longitudinal cross-national studies testing their impact.

Objectives: This pilot study aims at shedding light on the effects of the SOUND person-centered music-based intervention on well-being, cognition, executive functions and mood of older adults with mild-moderate dementia in three European countries.

Methods: An original intervention consisting in 12 sessions of active and passive music activities (singing, rhythmic exercises with Orff's tools, narratives elicited by music, etc.), led by a trained facilitator, was implemented in Italy, Portugal and Romania with 41 older adults with mild-moderate dementia attending elder facilities. Data on well-being, cognition, executive functions and mood of participants were collected before, at the end and two weeks after the intervention through psychometric tools. Temporal comparisons were assessed by T-test for paired samples.

Results: The SOUND intervention significantly improved participants' well-being, cognition and executive functions over time and remained stable at the follow-up at cross-national level. The potential of the intervention on mood is not clear due to depression and anxiety increasing among Romanian participants.

Conclusions: Cross-national, longitudinal, multidisciplinary mixed-method studies demonstrating the effects of music-based rehabilitative interventions for older adults with mild-moderate dementia are encouraged to shape innovative treatments as well as to identify possible adverse effects on participants' mood linked to scarcity of coping capabilities as source of distress in older individuals.