Support in Sound: Music Therapy for People Living With Dementia and Companions in Rural Communities

NCT07693114 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 373716
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 14
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this single-arm feasibility study is to learn whether group music therapy is feasible in a rural area for people living with dementia and their companions. The main questions are:

• Before music therapy starts
• During week 5 of music therapy
• After music therapy After music therapy, participants will also be asked to
• Complete a survey about their experiences of different parts of the music therapy programme
• Take part in an individual feasibility interview
• Take part in an interview exploring the role of peer support within the music therapy groups If a person does not have the capacity to answer any questions, their companion will be asked to provide the information on behalf of the individual living with dementia.

Conditions

Dementia

Keywords

Dementia; Music Therapy; Community; Rural; Feasibility

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Acceptability and practicality of the study

  The following feasibility measures will be collected to assess the acceptability and practicality of the study: number of participants who were recruited, adhered and retained to the study. Numerical levels of satisfaction throughout the duration of the study and qualitative details on feasibility from participants.

  From enrolment to the end of the 14-week research programme

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Dementia quality of life measure: DEMQOL

  Up to two weeks before the music therapy programme starts, again at week 5 and up to two weeks after music therapy programme.

• UCLA 3-item Loneliness Scale

  Up to two weeks before the music therapy programme starts, again at week 5 and up to two weeks after music therapy programme.

• Short Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS 15)

  Up to two weeks before the music therapy programme starts, again at week 5 and up to two weeks after music therapy programme.

• Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale

  Up to two weeks before the music therapy programme starts, again at week 5 and up to two weeks after music therapy programme.

Study Arms (1)

Music therapy group

EXPERIMENTAL

Group music therapy will be delivered to participants for 10-weeks.

Behavioral: Group music therapy

Interventions

Group music therapy BEHAVIORAL

Group music therapy will be held in the local community of Tarporley for 10 weeks. The music therapy will be delivered by a HCPC registered music therapist with experience of working with people living with dementia. Each session will be held for 1.5 hours: consisting of 1 hour of music therapy and the remaining time available for participants to have tea, coffee and cake providing an opportunity to talk and socialise. All participants will be provided with a name label before each session. The one hour of weekly music therapy will consist of singing, music listening, playing with instruments and interactive music making opportunities.

Music therapy group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• One person must have a clinical diagnosis of dementia and be accompanied by a companion
• Participants must be able to attend the 10-week programme, recognising that unavoidable absences (e.g., illness or unforeseen personal circumstances) may occur
• Be willing to provide data on health and well-being and take part in interviews.
• Be able to speak and understand the English language

You may not qualify if:

• Individuals, as dyads are the participants being recruited
• Dyads were neither person has a clinical diagnosis of dementia
• Are unavailable to generally commit to the research programme including music therapy sessions
• Are unable to speak or understand the English language

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Anglia Ruskin University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Tarporley Community Centre

Chester, United Kingdom

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Hussain B, Mirza M, Baines R, Burns L, Stevens S, Asthana S, Chatterjee A. Loneliness and social networks of older adults in rural communities: a narrative synthesis systematic review. Front Public Health. 2023 May 15;11:1113864. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1113864. eCollection 2023.

  PMID: 37255758 BACKGROUND

• Madso KG, Molde H, Hynninen KM, Nordhus IH. Observing Music Therapy in Dementia: Repeated Single-case Studies Assessing Well-being and Sociable Interaction. Clin Gerontol. 2022 Jul-Sep;45(4):968-982. doi: 10.1080/07317115.2021.1978121. Epub 2021 Sep 29.

  PMID: 34585627 BACKGROUND

• van der Steen JT, van der Wouden JC, Methley AM, Smaling HJA, Vink AC, Bruinsma MS. Music-based therapeutic interventions for people with dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2025 Mar 7;3(3):CD003477. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003477.pub5.

  PMID: 40049590 BACKGROUND

• Feng X, Dang W, Apuke OD. How does group music therapy help in combating the anxiety and depression of dementia patients? A quasi-experimental investigation. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2024 Oct;52:83-88. doi: 10.1016/j.apnu.2024.07.010. Epub 2024 Jul 8.

  PMID: 39260989 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Dementia

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Mental Disorders

Central Study Contacts

Kiera Kenny, PhD

CONTACT

+447979154869; kk79@aru.ac.uk

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 25, 2026
• First Posted: July 9, 2026
• Study Start: August 3, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): November 16, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 30, 2026
• Last Updated: July 9, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-06

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR
• Time Frame: In the first month of the study up until the research has been published \~ 2 years.
• Access Criteria: The research team will be able to access all IPD throughout the study. The data will be stored on a password protected OneDrive folder. The folder will be shared with the research team only and they will have the password to access the folder. There will be one Excel sheet with participants names and demographic information, where a unique ID code will be assigned to each participant. All survey and interview data will be labelled with the participant's unique code rather their name.

Locations

GB (1)