Music Therapy as a Viable Option to Affect Positive Therapeutic Change in Aged Care Residents - Term Paper Example

Name: Professor: Course: Date of Submission: Music Therapy as a Viable Option to Affect Positive Therapeutic Change in Aged Care Residents In the contemporary medicine world, integrative medicine has incrementally been adopted as practitioners deploy different methodologies that stray from the concepts of conventional medicine. The methods of therapeutic practices that are used alongside the mainstream scientific techniques mainly revolve around folk knowledge or particular religious or spiritual beliefs that traditions present as part of the healing process (Doherty 2012). This premise incorporates music therapy, which is classified as an expressive therapy in which professional music therapists use various components of music to aid patients to regain or sustain their health. The type of alternative healing aid is emerging as an important clinical specialty. Trained music therapists to aid cancer patients, pediatric patients in care units, and neonatal intensive care cases, have lately adopted music therapy. Systematic review of literature has revealed that medical music therapy has the potential to influence therapeutic outcomes with most health practitioners applying it in different ways to achieve varying therapeutic objectives. According to Weiner and Craighead (2010), meta-analysis of research on music therapy has revealed that it has positive effect on different medical conditions. For instance, the therapy is helpful in surgical recovery, neurological ability, reducing anxiety, helping in pain relief, and reducing. In addition, the therapy has been shown to be effective in adjustment to medical traumas as well as stabilization of respiratory patterns. Most of the benefits can be exploited to make music therapy a viable option to affect positive therapeutic change in aged care residents. Accomplishment of therapeutic objectives in the care for aged people can be delayed by several issues such as anxiety and depression, which can be effectively minimized through music therapy (Horne-Thompson & Grocke 2008). Application of music therapy in palliative care and hospice programs has shown that music therapy has the potential to reduce anxiety and pain, enhance physical comfort and improve the quality of life among people diagnosed with terminal illness. This paper entails a review of literature to determine whether music therapy indeed can be a viable option to affect positive therapeutic change in aged care residents. Music Therapy Benefits in the Nursing Care for the Aged People Promotion of Improved Sleep The achievement of targeted therapeutic objectives in the delivery of care among the older patients can be enhanced through interventions to alleviate some of the health improvement setbacks among such people. Aged people commonly experience sleep disturbances that affect negatively their therapeutic outcomes. According to Miller (2008), music therapy empirically based interventions have shown the ability to improve the quality of sleep, sleep latency, duration and efficiency as well as daytime activity in older people. Soft music applied in conjunction with dim lighting has been suggested as an additional intervention that helps enhance sleep among the aged people. The elderly and caregivers of dependent older seniors can be trained on the application of relaxation therapeutic techniques as an effective and adverse effects free method for inducing sleep. Promotion of healthy sleep patterns in aged people is a crucial step in alleviating their quality of life and therapeutic outcomes, which can be easily achieved through teaching the people and caregivers of dependent elderly patients about relaxation techniques such as playing or listening to soft music. Sleep patterns in order people are influenced by several factors including pain and anxiety, which must be properly addressed especially when nursing dementia and depressed aged patients (Horne-Thompson & Grocke 2008). When aged people experience sleep disturbances, they pose a great challenge to wellness outcomes hence the need to apply effective and safe sleep induction techniques such as music therapy and other comfort improvement methods. Reduction of Anxiety Older adults often suffer from chronic conditions associated with adverse effects on their psychological and behavioral patterns. The chronic conditions also trigger anxiety that greatly affects their therapeutic outcomes and quality of life. However, the experiences can be managed through various non-pharmacological interventions mainly focused on enhancing comfort and relaxation. According to Meckenzie and Rakel (2006), Yoga has been shown to be effective in alleviating anxiety, enhancing flexibility and diminishing social isolation. Older people enrolled for Yoga classes experience reduced anxiety and improved quality of life achieved through interaction with other people sharing similar experiences. The association of anxiety with poor therapeutic outcomes among the aged and terminally ill people necessitates the application of non-intrusive interventions to reduce the anxiety for better therapeutic outcomes. Drugs can also cause anxiety signs and symptoms, especially in older patients taking several medications hence the need to address the problem if positive therapeutic changes are to be attained (Aldridge 2000). The treatment and management of anxiety depends substantially on the cause of anxiety although complementary therapies such as pet therapy and music therapy have been found to be effective in reducing anxiety in older patients without any fear of side effects. Evidence supports that appropriate application of music therapy has the potential of helping older people achieve a state of relaxation and enable them endure a variety of stressors common in the aging stages (Morris 2007). Music therapy is recognized as an effective intervention in addressing anxiety, tension and aggression among psychiatric patients as well as agitated elderly people. Relaxed people are at a better position to respond to therapeutic interventions compared to anxious people hence the need to reduce anxiety among the aged people for better therapeutic outcomes (Mackenzie & Rakel 2006). Healthy adults exhibit anxious behaviors when experiencing stress, which can be alleviated through appropriate administration of music. Mitigating Effects of Social Isolation It is imperative that sickly, elderly or physically challenged people are predisposed to likely social isolation. However, social isolation is common in old age and has been associated with various health risks both mental and physical. Loneliness among the aged people can interfere with their wellbeing that predisposes them to health conditions ranging from severe depression, extrinsic or intrinsic aggression and mental impairment (Skingley & Vella-Burrows 2010). Social isolation has the potential to aggravate an existing health condition as well as interfering with therapeutic outcomes in not only the elderly but also other people undergoing treatment. Appropriate music has the potential to improve on several factors that contribute to social isolation among the elderly people such as poor perception of own health, loss of interest and hope of recovery and stigma associated with certain health and old-age conditions. Music as applied in the therapeutic realm has been found to be a powerful tool of providing comfort and relaxation among people with certain conditions, especially those in old age (Aldridge 2000). Music therapy is positively correlated with stimulation of the pituitary gland to Endorphins, which initiate significant changes in the human system translating to reduced pain, stress and improvement of emotional feels. These effects are essential in enhancing the effectiveness of therapeutic treatment and recovery. Scientific studies have established that musical exercise interventions lead to improved cognitive, physical, behavioral status and life satisfaction to many people (Morris 2007). Such findings support the anecdote that music therapy can affect positively the therapeutic change in the aged care residents. Music and Elderly People With Dementia According to Skingley and Vella-Burrows (2010), extant literature has shown that music therapy positively improves the behavior of elderly people suffering from dementia. It has been observed that after listening to music elderly people with dementia show significant positive changes on behavior associated with the condition. There is strong support for administration of appropriate music in that has the potential to improve therapeutic outcomes in the care of older people affected by the dementia condition (Isacoff 2012). People with the psychological condition often suffer from sleep disturbances, which negatively affect treatment during the nursing or home care of such patients. Many people suffering from dementia demonstrate problems in their behaviors including repetitive verbalizations and physical aggressions towards themselves and others (Cooke, Moyle, Shum, Harrison & Murfield 2010). Music therapy has been identified as one of the effective ways of addressing the agitation behavior due to its non-verbal qualities that make it suitable for patients with declining verbal abilities. Proper management of the behavioral symptoms in patients with dementia is essential in improving the quality of life for both the affected elderly persons and the caregivers (Weiner & Craighead 2010). The aggressive behavior among these people result self inflicted harmful injuries and others including the caregivers. In addition, the agitation behavior further interferes with the treatment process thereby compromising the general therapeutic change among such individuals. Therefore, the effect of the music therapy in reducing the agitation behavior is crucial in the improvement of the therapeutic changes among the elderly people with dementia. Conclusion Music therapy has been associated increasingly surfaced as s tool of health benefits especially among the elderly people, which in turn contribute to positive therapeutic changes among them. Elderly people often suffer from chronic conditions that trigger anxiety among them hence the need to address the anxious behavior the process of their care in order to achieve the expected therapeutic changes. With several studies demonstrating the ability of music therapy to promote relaxation and comfort among the elderly people, it can therefore be termed as a viable option to affect positively the therapeutic change in aged care residents. Music therapy has also been found to be effective in reducing the agitation behavior among elderly people with dementia thereby enhancing the therapeutic outcomes in the treatment. Finally, music therapy has been demonstrated as an effective way of inducing and controlling sleep disturbances among the elderly people, a problem that may interfere with the therapeutic changes during their treatment and care. References Aldridge, D 2000, Music therapy in dementia care: more new voices. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. London. Cooke, L, Moyle, W, Shum, K, Harrison, D & Murfield, E 2010, ‘A randomized controlled trial exploring the effect of music on agitated behaviors and anxiety in older people with dementia’. Aging & Mental Health, vol. 14, no. 8, pp. 905-916. Doherty, M 2012, ‘A sentimental journey, Maclean’s, vol. 125, no. 27, pp. 62-64. Horne-Thompson, A & Grocke, D 2008, ‘The effect of music therapy on anxiety in patients who are terminally ill’, Journal of Pallative Medicine, vol. 11, no.4, pp.582-590. Isacoff, S 2012, ‘with music on their mind’, Wall Street Journal, vol. 259, no. 185. Mackenzie, E & Rakel, B 2006, Complementary and alternative medicine for older adults: a guide to holistic approaches to healthy aging. Springer Publishing Company. London. Miller, C 2008, Nursing for wellness in older adults. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. New York. Morris, J 2007, Agitation: a description of disruptive behaviors in African-American older adults with dementia. University of California. Los Angeles. Skingley, A & Vella-Burrows, T 2010, ‘Therapeutic effects of music and singing for older people’, Nursing Standard, vol. 24, no. 19, pp. 35-41. Weiner, I & Craighead, W 2010, The corsini encyclopedia of psychology. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken. Read More