Making Connections Thru Music

Part of paid clinical trials in Winchester, Massachusetts.

Sponsor
Hopeful Aging
Study ID
NCT06079216
Status
Not Yet Recruiting

Notify me when recruiting opens

Save your spot on the interest list for this study. We'll keep your details with this study so our team can follow up when recruiting opens.

Not yet recruiting

Add your contact details and location so we can keep your interest tied to this study.

Conditions

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - 103 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Volunteer Led Making Connections Thru Music — BEHAVIORAL
    Volunteer led Group music therapy-based intervention
  • Staff Led Making Connections Thru Music — BEHAVIORAL
    Staff led Group music therapy-based intervention

Study Details

Healthcare systems around the world, including within the United States, have long-established shortages of trained caregivers. The American Health Care Association states that "the health care system has experienced a shortage of trained caregivers for critical roles for some time." This scarcity directly impacts the 45,800 Long-Term Care (LTC) communities throughout the U.S. Concurrent with this staff shortage, more than half of LTC residents have some form of dementia. These two issues create a serious public health concern, since dementia is associated with a variety of behavioral expressions, such as aggression, anxiety, and agitation. Behavioral expressions of dementia can be successfully managed with the use of tailored, psychosocial interventions and communication support. Unfortunately, existing staff shortages make the facilitation of such interventions challenging. One powerful and often-overlooked approach to ameliorating staffing shortages involves the utilization of retired volunteers to facilitate interventions for persons with dementia (PWD). Based on the nearly universal love of music and a promising pilot study, the product to be developed and tested in this STTR will build upon the combined prior work of the Principal Investigators. Making Connections Thru Music (MCTM), an urgently needed product, will enable retired volunteers to facilitate an evidence-based music and discussion intervention with PWD. MCTM aims to improve engagement, enhance quality of life, and reduce behavioral expressions in PWD. The intervention will consist of two main components: (1) a comprehensive online training course for volunteers, which will provide a general overview of dementia, demonstrate effective communication strategies to use with PWD, and instruct volunteers to effectively facilitate MCTM sessions, and (2) an app containing a structured MCTM intervention protocol and toolkit, which will be the means by which volunteers facilitate MCTM. MCTM will be marketed to LTC communities.

Key Dates

Start date
Jul 1, 2025
Status verified
Jan 2025
Primary completion
Sep 30, 2025
Completion
Sep 30, 2025

Study Design

Enrollment
196 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT

Arms

  • Experimental: MCTM Intervention
    Activity sessions will be led by activity volunteers
  • Active Comparator: Control
    Activity sessions will be led by activity professionals

Primary Outcome Measure

Menorah Park Engagement Scale [ Time Frame: Baseline (weeks 1-4) Treatment (weeks 5-12) ]

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
The Hearthstone Institute, LLCWinchesterMassachusetts01890-

Find similar trials in Winchester, MA

By condition
Alzheimer's disease
By specialty
NeurologyDementia careBrain disordersGeriatrics
By research site
The Hearthstone Institute, LLC· Winchester, MA

Related Studies