Use of Music in Dementia by Occupational Therapist

By

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Research1

Research Question2

Aims and Objectives2

Theoretical Framework2

Significance of the Study3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW4

Dementia4

The Dementia Evaluation6

Behavioural Problems in Patients with Dementia6

Occupational Therapists8

Treatment Methods Dementia9

Art Therapy (AT)9

Drama Therapy (DT)10

Dance Movement Therapy/Dance Therapy (DMT)12

Music as a Therapy (MT)13

Sleep15

Depression15

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY18

Rationale for a Qualitative Study18

Research Design19

Qualitative Research19

REFERENCES21

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Research

Improvements in medical care over the past 50 years have extended the average person's life expectancy, dramatically increasing the number of people living over the age of 65. As people live longer, the demographic configuration of the nation's population is also changing. For the first time in our history, the nation's fastest-growing age group is people over the age of 85. Unfortunately, one of the consequences of living longer is the increased likelihood of developing a chronic illness. One illness whose major risk factor is advancing age is dementia.

Dementia is a progressive loss of cognitive function which can be due to a variety of physiological causes.

The two most common types of dementia are Ischemic Vascular Dementia (IVD) and Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type (DAT). IVD is a heterogeneous disorder, arising from different types of cerebral lesions in varying locations. The diagnostic criteria of IVD are the development of multiple cognitive deficits manifested by memory impairment, and aphasia (language disturbance), apraxia (impaired ability to carry out motor activities despite intact motor function), agnosia (failure to recognize or identify objects despite intact sensory function), and disturbance in executive functioning (i.e., planning, organizing, sequencing, abstracting). These cognitive deficits usually represent a significant decline from a previous level of functioning and cause significant impairment in social or occupational ability.

The primary cognitive and functional diagnostic criteria for DAT are essentially the same as those of IVD except that the course of OAT may be characterized by a gradual onset. Although there may be some behavioural differences in the early stages of IVD and OAT, as the diseases progress, the neurological damage becomes so widespread that observable differences in the diseases are difficult to discern. In the long run, most degenerative conditions become neuron psychologically indistinguishable. Therefore, in the current study the more general term "dementia" will be used when referring to elders with cognitive impairments, most often OAT.

Research Question

The research questions are as follows

How is dementia evaluated?

Who are occupational therapists?

What methods of treatments do occupational therapists use for dementia?

Is music an effective therapy for curing dementia patients?

Aims and Objectives

The aim of this research is to assess whether music therapy can be an effective treatment for treating dementia patients.

The objectives of this study are:

To understand the evaluation of dementia

To assess the effectiveness of the music therapy in treating patients with dementia

Theoretical Framework

This paper shall be discussing the accounts of dementia and the impact of music therapy upon the treatment of individuals with dementia. In addition, the script shall also cover the reputation of music therapy for occupational therapists and also provide an in-depth analysis of how occupational therapists make way to handle and diminish ...