Songs that mattered to patients when they were younger gave Tai Po Hospital staff another way to manage dementia-related agitation, including shouting, refusing care, removing tubes and attacking others.
The year-long programme involved 72 inpatients aged 65 or older. Each was given a personalised playlist and listened to it four times a day, for 30 minutes at a time. The hospital recorded changes in their behaviour during the programme.
More than 60% of participants showed less agitation than before the programme, Dr Yip Wai-man, chief of service for Tai Po Hospital’s Department of Medicine and Geriatrics, said. Seventeen patients also reduced their medication use, particularly as-needed sleeping medication and sleeping pills.
Dr Yip said the familiar melodies appeared to calm patients and that four half-hour sessions a day were sufficient. Longer or more frequent listening could produce a blunting effect, he said.
A registered nurse described one patient becoming calmer after hearing a familiar song selected for him: his movements and expression grew more relaxed, his breathing eased and his gaze towards his wife became steadier. Some patients asked to hear the music again, while staff sometimes used a listening session as part of an agreement before medication and observed better cooperation afterwards.
The Tai Po Hospital team is considering extending the music-assisted service to an accident-and-emergency ward at another hospital.