Systematic Use of Music as an Environmental Intervention and Quality of Care in Nursing Homes: A Qualitative Case Study in Norway

Abstract

Background: The systematic use of music as an environmental intervention in nursing homes shows beneficial effects on patients’ health, safety, and quality of life in a care-related perspective. A county in Norway and a Nursing Education Department in a region of Norway collaborated on the project “systematic use of music as environmental intervention and quality of care in nursing homes” for nursing students. Methods: This study from Norway (2017) had a qualitative and explorative approach. The sample (n = 33) was strategically and conveniently selected. Seven different focus group interviews consisted of nursing students, practice counselors, teachers, and project leaders, representing three nursing homes and healthcare centers. Passive observation lasting two days in each of the six departments was executed in order to observe environmental treatment in practice. Results: The beneficial aspects of using music as an environmental intervention in nursing homes increased among the students, and contributed to improved interaction, communication, and development of care with the patients. Students who participated actively in musical interaction such as improvisation, singing, and music listening with the patients were committed and motivated. The staff and management showed varied enthusiasm for the project. Conclusions: If the systematic use of music as environmental therapy and quality of care in elderly care is to be successful, it seems vital to include this theme early in nursing education. By creating early involvement among nurses, it might influence, inspire, and encourage involvement among employees and management.

Singing as a health-promoting activity in elderly care: a qualitative, longitudinal study in Norway

“…Several studies have demonstrated that focused educational interventions have proven to be effective in addressing knowledge, skills and attitude gaps related to EIP in both nurses and nursing students ( Stige, 2005 ; Vink and Hanser, 2018 ). Educational intervention has been shown to aid frontline nurses, equipping them with confidence, new skills and an understanding of EIP ( Batt-Rawden and Storlien, 2019 ). According to these authors, singing-based therapeutic caregiving has an advantage over other kinds of music intervention, because it requires no special equipment other than the singing voice.…”

“…In a study by Go¨tell et al (2009) caring of the older person seemed to be more energised, more cognitively aware, and more responsive to the caregivers if the caregivers were singing and also received responses from the elderly. The fact that singing activities such as lullabies, singalongs and one-to-one humming reduced uneasiness, and increased well-being and comfort has been documented by several authors (Batt-Rawden and Storlien, 2019;Besha, 2015;Clift et al, 2016). These results also support Hammar et al's (2010Hammar et al's ( , 2011 finding that negative emotions such as anger, sadness and anxiety seemed to decrease, while positive emotions such as happiness, and the expression of such emotions through smiling, whistling and laughing increased following the introduction of singing.…”

“…New regulations ( Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services, 2013 , 2018 , 2019 ) have called for music to be employed as an alternative or complementary approach to treatment, potentially lessening the need for and use of medication. However, educating the public as well as health professionals is crucial to advocate for CAM therapies in nursing care plans, as identified in a recent study depicting systematic use of music as an environmental intervention to improve quality of care in nursing homes ( Batt-Rawden and Storlien, 2019 ). However, more research is needed to enable nurses and other medical staff to use the arts as an intervention, including music-based interventions, singing-based programmes and greater use of choirs in nursing homes ( Clift et al., 2016 ).…”

Ecomusicology: A socioecological dimension towards acoustically sustainable residential buildings

“…The result of this study therefore is in line with that of Dolezal and Spitzbart-Glasl (2015) who found that acoustic quality of building components can have impact on the ecological performance of the whole building. Backed by the classical theories of music, mood and movement championed by Murrock and Higgins (2009), this study keyed into the results of other studies (Batt-Rawden & Storlien, 2019;Challe, 2015;Jiang et al, 2019;Jo & Jeon, 2020;Raglio et al, 2020;Yi & Kang, 2019) that affirmed the positive roles of music towards ensuring socioecological sustainability and promoting the well-being of building users in our buildings. The study has strengthened the result of Okoye et al (2020b) which found that among the sustainability dimensions, social sustainability performance of buildings was mostly affected, but in the antithetical direction.…”

Att bli en sjungande tonårspojke: En livshistoria om att sjunga tillsammans med andra i skolan

“…Individualised approaches to music and dementia have been advocated by Linda Gerdner (2005) and applied within music therapeutic caregiving (Götell et al, 2002(Götell et al, , 2009Hammar et al, 2011) and music-based environmental therapy (Batt-Rawden & Storlien, 2019;Batt-Rawden et al, 2021;Myskja, 2011), as well as within professional music therapy sessions (Leggieri et al, 2019). It is possible to reach and enhance implicit memories by adjusting music and song-selection to individual musical preferences and experiences.…”