ARC NWC Postdoctoral Research Fellow Megan Polden is aiming to examine the impacts of singing intervention services on mood, quality of life, cognition, social isolation and loneliness for people living with dementia and their carers. 

A further focus of the research will be to look at the barriers which people encounter when trying to engage with these support services and look at ways to reduce these factors and improve engagement. 

Megan highlighted, “Accessing services after a diagnosis can be difficult and inequalities had been reported in accessing social care and support for people living with dementia and their carers. 

Factors that contribute to poor access can include the cost of care/services, unequal services available, transport issues and increased reliance on others (unpaid carers) for support.” 

Megan, who is working in the Older Adult subtheme of the Health and Care Across the Life-course theme, said “Dementia has profound effects on people’s quality of life and ability to perform everyday tasks. Pharmacological interventions can not help everyone in the management of cognitive symptoms for people with dementia, and are time-sensitive. 

There are also often side effects of pharmacological interventions that can reduce the quality of life of people living with dementia. 

Due to this there is a strong need for non-pharmacological interventions such as music and singing interventions.” 

Music therapy and singing interventions have been shown to improve mood, regulate emotion and relieve stress in people with dementia. Music therapy help both the carers and people living with Dementia. 

Megan continued “The majority of people with dementia live at home where they are often cared for and supported by their friends and family.  It can be hugely rewarding and fulfilling caring for a family member living with dementia, however, it can also be challenging and have negative impacts on carers mental and physical health and quality of life so examining how singing support services also impact carers is important.” 

The project has been developed alongside ARC NWC member organisation ‘The Brain Charity’ and the ‘Lyrics and Lunch’ as well as four ARC NWC public advisors including a person living with dementia, two carers (one paid and one unpaid) and also a music teacher who runs the singing sessions. It forms part of the IPH Dementia Research Group. 

Megan continued “The act of singing combines language, music and instinctive human behaviour to enhance neurological stimulation.  

Research has linked singing to improved memory performance and increased cognitive functioning as it utilises and engages brain pathways other than in plain speech, which is beneficial for people with dementia.” 

Using a mixed-methods approach, Megan’s research is aiming to understand the benefits of support services and how to make them more widely and easily accessible as well as providing information on how effective singing interventions are delivered and how these may be improved. 

“We plan to implement our findings locally if the results from the current study suggest that singing support services have a positive impact on people with dementia and their carers. 

Consequently, if effective support services are scalable, expanding these services to other regions and settings could improve access to beneficial support services.” 

The findings from this NIHR and Alzheimer’s Society funded project will be used to develop recommendations for future delivery of singing intervention services with a focus on ways to reduce barriers to access.