Effect of music on pain for home-dwelling persons with dementia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of music on pain for home-dwelling persons with dementia. A quasiexperimental design was used. Fifteen subjects listened to their preferred music for 30 minutes before peak agitation time, for 2 days per week, followed by no music for 2 weeks. The process was repeated once. The finding of this study showed that mean pain levels after listening to music were significantly lower than before listening to the music (t=2.21, df=28; p < .05). The findings of this pilot study suggest the importance of music intervention to control pain for home-dwelling persons with dementia.