Difference in the Contents of Music Intervention to Control Agitation by Music Providers

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the contents of music intervention studies between the music therapists and non-music therapists who endeavored to control agitation in patients with dementia, and to provide meaningful ideas to improve the music interventions by music providers. Method: This study is a review study by searching CINAHL, MEDLINE, and PsychINFO for the keywords, “agitation” and “music,” which are used in the searches. Results: A total of 30 studies of music intervention (7 studies about music therapists and 23 studies about nonmusic therapists) were included for the review. The studies about music therapists had a more reasonable sample size, variety of music activities, and comparison groups. The studies of nonmusic therapists were provided by nurses, researchers, recreational therapists, and trained nursing assistants and they provided music using background music at a scheduled time for care, such as mealtimes and bathing times. Conclusions: Studies on music interventions need to have a more rigorous research design, such as randomized controlled trials for the future studies. Furthermore, there is a need for multi-disciplinary music intervention studies by music providers who have different types of educational backgrounds and clinical experiences.