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Person-centered dementia care has been extensively integrated into music therapy practice; its central aim being to meet the core psychological needs of people with dementia, uphold personhood, and contribute to enhanced quality of life. Furthermore, Kitwood's model has been widely referenced as the theoretical framework underpinning multiple studies with people with dementia. However, few studies explore it in more concrete terms, expand on how it is implemented in practice, or describe how "positive person work" can be facilitated in music therapy with this population. This paper aims to address these lacunae, by presenting a comprehensive overview of Kitwood's model; identifying how it has informed music therapy practice, and highlighting current applications of "person-centered music therapy" in relation to meeting the core psychological needs of people with dementia. Furthermore, the authors present practical considerations on facilitating "positive person work" in music therapy, drawing on their experiences of providing music therapy in dementia care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mixed-methods concurrent identical design was implemented to explore the following research question: what are the emotional, social, and practical impacts of group singing for women from a regeneration area? Members of an all-female community choir based in an area of disadvantage participated in a focus group and survey. The most significant quantitative finding was an increase in the overall perceived level of health, which seemed linked to qualitative themes of 'positive emotions', 'redefining and reclaiming identity', 'choir as an extended family' and 'community interaction and impact'. Three themes arose from qualitative data: social impact, health and well-being aspects, and practical issues. Integrating qualitative and quantitative findings identified an overarching concept that 'choir participation may increase emotional and social health and well-being'. Group singing was found beneficial, with a potential to serve as a resource in cultivating resilience in individuals living in areas of disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of people living with dementia are cared for by their families. Family carers play a vital role in upholding the formal care system. Caring for a family member with dementia can be fulfilling. However, this role can have a considerable negative impact on family carers' mental and physical health and quality of life. Several empirical research studies have recently been conducted that explore the potential benefits of music interventions for family carers of people living with dementia. Singing has been the primary musical medium employed. This article presents the first review of this literature to date. It investigates the impact of music interventions on the health and well-being of family carers of people living with dementia, and how they experience and perceive these interventions. Whittemore and Knafl's five-stage integrative review framework was utilized: (i) problem identification; (ii) literature search; (iii) data evaluation; (iv) data analysis and synthesis; and (v) presentation of the findings. A total of 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. Analysis and synthesis resulted in three overarching themes: impact on family carers, carer perceptions of music interventions and null quantitative findings in small studies. The review found that singing and music interventions may improve family carers' social and emotional well-being, enhance their ability to cope and care and ameliorate the caring relationship, contributing to experiences of flourishing. However, it highlighted that this area is under-researched and pointed to the need for larger, more rigorous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various topics within the issue, including singing and health in Ireland, person-centred care, music therapy, and ethnomusicology.

This paper explores the well-being ['well-being' and 'wellbeing' are used interchangeably in the literature. Well-being is used in this paper (except in the reference list where exact wording is maintained)] benefits of participation in a workplace choir for health service staff. A mixed method study, this project combines quantitative measures of work engagement, perceived stress, resilience levels and work absences with qualitative interviews with choir participants. It is the first study of workplace choirs in Ireland and one of very few studies internationally that research health service staff choirs. There is some preliminary evidence of benefits that choir attendance may increase positive perception of workers' mental health as well as effect depression rates. However, evidence is limited quantitatively and difficulties in measuring the health benefits of arts interventions are noted. Qualitative data, however, confirms previous study findings, namely that a workplace choir can promote social connectedness, enjoyment at work and staff engagement. Work place choir was also noted to appeal mainly to a limited demographic of work place staff and people with relatively positive health and well-being. Efforts must be made to engage staff from lower socio-economic backgrounds, diverse cultural backgrounds and male staff in work place health promotion activities, as these groups were found less likely to join a work place choir. Given the low cost and low risk of this activity, and the qualitative benefits reported, it is recommended to continue to develop and evaluate health service workplace choirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]