La música com a teràpia per a reduir els episodis d’agitació en persones amb malaltia d’alzheimer institucionalitzades de gravetat moderada: projecte de recerca
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Introduction: Alzheimer's disease currently affects approximately 85,000 people in
Catalonia. This disease represents between 60% and 70% of dementia cases and the
evidence shows an increase in these figures in the future, explained by an aging population.
Although there is no known treatment to completely cure this disease, non-pharmacological
therapies are used to slow down its progression, improve the quality of life of the affected
people and control the existing cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Music therapy is one of
them and uses music as a very powerful tool to help people who are agitated connect with
themselves and the environment.
Objectives: The main objective of the project is determinate the effectiveness of music
therapy to reduce episodes of agitation in institutionalized Alzheimer's disease patients of
moderate severity. Other objectives would be the improvement of neuropsychiatric disorders,
the increase of well-being and quality of life and the stimulation of memory and cognitive
abilities that can provide us with music therapy interventions in people with Alzheimer's
disease who are institutionalized of moderate severity.
Material and methods: A randomized and controlled community clinical trial will be carried
out over a period of 6 months. Sampling will be carried out by conglomerates among all the
residential centers of the city of Girona, with the centers being the first-stage sample unit and
the second-stage sample unit the residents who meet all the inclusion criteria. The variable
to be studied will be agitation, which will be measured through the Cohen-Mansfield
Agitation Inventory (CMAI). The neuropsychiatric symptom inventory (NPI) will be used to
assess psychopathological and behavioral symptoms. To determine people's quality of life,
the SF-36 health questionnaire (SF-36) will be administered. And, in order to know the
cognitive function of each individual, the Mini-Mental test (MMSE) will be provided. All
interested persons must read the information sheet, sign the informed consent and answer a
musical preferences questionnaire. Data analysis will be carried out using the SPSS 21.0
program