Music as Therapy International has been training caregivers to use music in wide-ranging care settings for over 25 years. This year we have been reviewing the ways we offer training to caregivers of people living with dementia in the UK and exploring the relevance of our online training tool, Music Helps.

Originally created for a care home in India, Music Helps is a free interactive 4-hour course, designed to inspire and equip caregivers to use music as a tool to facilitate interaction with people living with dementia within daily care. Currently available in Hindi, Telugu and English, the course comprises five chapters offering guidance, videos, exercises, and resources to give caregivers an understanding of the role music can play in the care they provide, whether at home or in a residential setting.

To determine its relevance to the UK care context, we have undertaken a full evaluation of the original course, spoken to providers of music and music therapy training here in the UK, looked into demand for music training among those providing care for people living with dementia, and considered the implications of our multicultural society on how we strive to embed music into dementia care.

Our Findings

Music Helps participants reported a deepened understanding of dementia and the acquisition of an extended toolkit which they evidenced they were using in practice. Not only did participants report the positive immediate impact on Music Helps for the people living with dementia in their care, but also its positive impact on their own well-being and confidence.

Participants reported Music Helps to be highly relevant and enjoyable to complete, giving the whole course a universally strong rating.

Alzheimer’s Society (2022) https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-us/policy-and-influencing/what-we-think/demography

The scope of Music Helps is significantly different to the training offered by other organisations, particularly with respect to its consideration of the different cultures of caregivers and people living with dementia, care provided within a home environment, and the role of music towards the end of life.

Insight into how dementia affects non-white communities is limited due to historically low rates of diagnoses, for a number of different reasons (including ethnic inequalities with respect to diagnosis, treatment and support, socioeconomic factors and cultural attitudes).

Mak HW, Coulter R & Fancourt D. (2020). Patterns of social inequality in arts and cultural participation: findings from a nationally representative sample of adults living in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Public Health Panorama, 6 (1), 55 – 68. World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/331566. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO Perkins, R., Mason-Bertrand, A., Fancourt, D., Baxter, L., & Williamson, A. (2020). How Participatory Music Engagement Supports Mental Well-being: A Meta-Ethnography. Qualitative Health Research, 30(12), 1924–1940. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732320944142

Our evaluation evidenced the wide accessibility of Music Helps and the successful tailoring of its content to people of different heritages, speaking 3 different languages. Given our strong record of tailoring training to different cultures and contexts, we are confident we can use our learning to adapt Music Helps for a multicultural UK audience.

Next steps

We have already started work on a detailed review of the course content, identifying aspects requiring adaptation for a new audience. We have begun adjusting the narration script and mapping out where revised or new illustrations are needed. Drawing on our existing network of expertise, including our Advisory Panel and Local Partners, as well as external tech specialists, will help to inform and refine the next stages of our course content development. In doing so, we hope to ensure Music Helps (UK) will be as widely relevant, accessible, and impactful for the UK dementia care context as the Indian version of the course has been.

This important scoping work has increased our confidence in the relevance of Music Helps (UK), and we are very excited to progress its development as a priority within our UK Programme over the coming year. We will be piloting the course towards the end of 2023 and we will be inviting caregivers to participate nearer the time.

We will be sure to keep you posted along the way, so please do watch this space or sign up to our newsletter to follow our progress!

If you are a care manager, care practitioner, or home carer for anyone living with dementia and would like to receive further information on Music Helps (UK), or are interested to take part in our Music Helps (UK) pilot, we’d love to hear from you! Please contact elsahariades@musicastherapy.org.