Paper: The Effect of Group Music Therapy with Use of Percussion Instruments on Older Adults Attending Community Day-Care Services in Taiwan (19th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice)

Tuesday, 8 July 2008: 8:30 AM

Sung-Chi Chen, BSN, RN , Surgical Ward, Department of Nursing, Mennonite Christian Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan

Huei-Chuan Sung, PhD, MSN, RN , Department of Nursing, Tzu Chi College of Technology, Hualien, Taiwan

Tzu-Hsuan Chiu, BSN, RN , Intensive Care Unit, Department of Nursing, Tzu Chi General hospital, Hualein, Taiwan

Learning Objective 1: understand the effect of group music therapy on older adults attending community day-care services.

Learning Objective 2: learn how to implement a group music therapy with use of percussion instruments.

Music therapy has shown positive outcomes on physiological and psychological well-being among older people; however, little is known about the effect of group music therapy on older adults attending community day-care services. This study aimed to determine the effect of group music therapy with use of percussion instruments on level of depression and quality of life among older adults attending community day-care services. The study used a quasi-experimental design with a purposive sample of older adults who attended two church-based community day-care services in Taiwan. Two day-care services were randomly assigned as the experimental and control group. Twenty participants in the experimental group received 20-minute group music therapy using percussion instruments in the morning, twice a week for 4 weeks. The group music therapy was designed based on use of familiar music of older adults, percussion instruments, and body movements suitable for elders. Thirteen participants in the control group received routine care with no music therapy. Level of depression was assessed by Geriatric Depression Scale, and quality of life was assessed by WHOQOL-100 scale at baseline and week 4. The results indicated that older adults who received 4 weeks of group music therapy with use of percussion instruments had a significant reduction in their depression scores(Z=-3.37, p=0.001), but the improvement on quality of life was not significant. Group music therapy also significantly reduced the level of depression of the older adults in the experimental group compared to those of the control group(Z=-3.1, p=0.002). The study results suggested that group music therapy with use of percussion instruments can be incorporated into day-care activity program planning in order to improve mental health of community-dwelling older adults.

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