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标题：The Promise of Intergenerational Choir for Improving Psychosocial and Cognitive Health for those with Dementia: The Voices in Motion Project
其他标题：The Promise of Intergenerational Choir for Improving Psychosocial and Cognitive Health for those with Dementia: The Voices in Motion Project
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作者：Nicholas Tamburri ; Michaella Trites ; Debra Sheets 等
期刊名称：Arbutus Review
电子版ISSN：1923-1334
出版年度：2019
卷号：10
期号：1
页码：66-82
DOI：10.18357/tar101201918962
出版社：University of Victoria
摘要：Rates of dementia continue to increase along with life expectancy. As neither dementia’s cause nor its cure is well understood from the perspective of medical science, further investigations of complementary lifestyle and non-pharmaceutical interventions are imperative. Although arts-based therapies have been explored selectively, the significance of these interventions for persons with dementia (PwD) remains undervalued in both the general population and scientific literature. This study aims to examine one promising lifestyle intervention, the effect of intergenerational choir participation, on psychosocial and cognitive function for PwD. Participants (n = 32), in partnership with their family caregivers and local high school students, participated in an intergenerational choir for as many as three choir seasons spanning up to 18 months of follow-up. Participants underwent an expansive assessment of psychosocial, physiological, and cognitive function every four to six weeks as part of an intensive repeated measures design. Here, the potential benefits of choir for PwD were explored in relation to change for select cognitive (Mini-Mental State Examination: MMSE; Trail Making Task A: TMT-A; Word Recall) and psychosocial (Patient Health Questionnaire: PHQ-9) indicators. Multilevel modelling was used to index initial levels (at baseline) and change (spanning up to eight follow-up assessments) in function for measures of global cognition, executive functioning, episodic memory, and depressive symptoms. Notably, no significant declines were observed for MMSE or TMT-A tasks. As expected, episodic memory function continued to decline, with a significant lessening of depressive symptoms and signs observed for the PHQ-9. These results suggest that despite the progressive nature of underlying neuropathology for dementia subtypes like Alzheimer’s Disease, preservation of select cognitive functions as well as mitigation of psychosocial comorbidities (depressive symptoms) is possible through participation in an intergenerational choir.
关键词：dementia; psychosocial function; cognitive function; intergenerational choir; social engagement