Art for Ages: The Effects of Group Music Making on the Wellbeing of Nursing Home Residents

Abstract

In many countries, life expectancy has increased considerably in past years, and the importance of finding ways to ensure good levels of wellbeing through aging has become more important than ever. Arts based interventions are promising in this respect, and the literature suggests that musical activities can reduce isolation and anxiety and foster feelings of achievement and self-confidence. The present study examined the effects of group music making programs on the health and wellbeing of nursing home residents in Southern Switzerland. A team of professional and student musicians delivered 10 weekly music sessions in four nursing homes, focusing on singing, rhythm-based activities with percussion instruments, and listening to short, live performances. 22 participants (16 women and 6 men, aged 72-95 years, mean 83.6, SD ± 6.9) were recruited to take part in the study and were interviewed after the last music session. The data were analyzed with thematic analysis to investigate how residents experienced group music making and its effects. The findings show that the music programs were beneficial for residents’ wellbeing. Music plays an important role in their lives, both in their pasts and presently, and being involved in musical activities offers engagement and novelty in daily life, providing learning opportunities and facilitating interpersonal relationships. Moreover, these results were due to interactions with the musicians involved. Residents particularly appreciated the opportunity to listen to live performances as part of the sessions. This study suggests that nursing home residents value music and that music based interventions play an important and direct role in enhancing their wellbeing.

A Space for Collaborative Creativity. How Collective Improvising Shapes ‘a Sense of Belonging’

“…Engaging in music programs is found to be beneficial for nursing home residents ( Paolantonio et al, 2020 ) and can has a positive influence on depression symptoms and cognitive functioning in elderly participants, as found in studies from Biasutti and Mangiacotti (2018 , 2021) .…”

“…Not surprisingly, joint music making can be related to all the dimensions of Seligman’s PERMA model of well-being (see also Croom, 2014 ; Paolantonio et al, 2020 ). This model was the result of research in the field of positive psychology, which entails the scientific study of human flourishing and authentic happiness ( Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000 ).…”

Aktivnosti za preprečevanje osamljenosti starejših odraslih v domovih za starejše

“…Rezultati kažejo, da so glasbene in z glasbo povezane aktivnosti pogosto uporabljene, saj jih je možno kombinirati z drugimi aktivnostmi. Vključujejo poslušanje glasbe, petje (Theurer et al, 2014;Paolantonio et al, 2020), ustvarjanje glasbil in igranje na glasbila (Matto et al, 2015;Paolantonio et al, 2020), gibanje ob glasbi (Tse et al, 2014;Matto et al, 2015) in celo čiščenje sob stanovalcev ob glasbi (Theurer et al, 2014). Glasbene aktivnosti pozitivno vplivajo na razpoloženje in čustva starejših odraslih v domovih (Paolantonio et al, 2020), krepitev prijateljskih vezi in vzpostavljanje novih socialnih stikov, ki zmanjšujejo občutke osamljenosti (Theurer et al, 2014).…”

“…Starejši ljudje se zelo radi vključujejo v skupine, kjer lahko pojejo, igrajo instrumente ali poslušajo glasbo, berejo pesmi in rišejo. Umetniško udejstvovanje jih zelo pomirja, poleg tega se pri takšnih aktivnostih spletajo nove vezi, obstoječi medosebni odnosi pa se poglabljajo in krepijo (Matto et al, 2015;Paolantonio et al, 2020). Družabne aktivnosti v skupini, ki so namenjene razvedrilu, lahko pomembno prispevajo k zmanjševanju osamljenosti in jo preprečujejo.…”

Influence of music on the hearing and mental health of adolescents and countermeasures

“…Research indicates that listening to music can lower cortisol levels (a stress hormone), thereby reducing stress ( Emami et al, 2023 ). The theory of self-efficacy suggests that participation in music activities (such as learning an instrument or singing) can enhance individual self-confidence and self-esteem ( Paolantonio et al, 2020 ).…”