The University of Melbourne in partnership with the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network has been awarded an ARIIA grant for their project ‘A care-staff delivered music intervention to address patient and staff wellbeing within a Specialist Advanced Dementia unit’.
Evidence that Music Therapy (MT) interventions decrease Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) led the Royal Commission into Aged Care’s recommendation that MT become an essential service. Workforce shortages of Registered Music Therapists highlight the need for scalable innovative approaches to meet the future needs of the sector.
This project explores how HOMESIDE (a training protocol developed to train families in effective music use at home) could be adapted for delivery of professional healthcare workers within a Specialist Advanced Dementia Unit (SADU).
In this project, staff employed at a SADU for people with high levels of BPSD, will receive HOMESIDE training and then apply this training during dementia care over 3 months.
The project will involve co-design contributions by people with dementia (PwD), family caregivers, staff, and management. Pre and post outcome measures will test the effects of the intervention on BPSD, and staff wellbeing. Factors supporting and inhibiting HOMESIDE uptake and sustainability will be explored. The translation potential, feasibility, and scalability of HOMESIDE to SADU’s will be examined.