Personalised music for residents with dementia in an Australian rural aged‐care setting

Abstract Objective Personalised music reportedly has a positive effect on behaviour and mood in people living with dementia. This intervention has not been conducted in low‐resourced or rural aged‐care settings. We evaluated the effect of a non–therapist‐led personalised music listening intervention on residents with dementia and workplace culture in a rural aged‐care facility in South Australia. Design Qualitative pilot study. Setting Rural aged‐care home in South Australia. Participants Ten residents with dementia and 15 aged‐care staff participated in this study. Interventions Ten residents participated in an 8‐week music program. Four focus groups were conducted with aged‐care staff post‐intervention. A thematic analysis was used to identify emerging themes. Main outcome measure Personalised music positively influenced resident's behaviour and well‐being, social interaction and the workplace environment and culture, and served as a useful tool for personalised care. Results Three themes emerged: quality of life, personalised care and better aged‐care environment. Personalised music positively influenced resident's behaviour and well‐being, social interaction and the workplace environment and culture, and served as a useful tool for personalised care. Conclusion Personalised music program is an effective, low‐cost intervention to improve quality of life and personalised care of residents living with dementia, staff well‐being, and a workplace and culture in low‐resourced or rural aged‐care settings.