AUTHOR=Ridder Hanne Mette , Krøier Julie Kolbe , Anderson-Ingstrup Jens , McDermott Orii 

TITLE=Person-attuned musical interactions (PAMI) in dementia care. Complex intervention research for constructing a training manual

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2023.1160588

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2023.1160588

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=Introduction: Music is of vital importance for cognition, human care, and the formation of social communities throughout life. Dementia is a neurocognitive disorder that affects cognitive domains, and in late-stage dementia care is needed in all aspects of daily living. Within nursing home contexts, carers play a significant role for the caring culture but often lack professional training of verbal and nonverbal communication skills and management strategies. Thus, there is a need for training carers to respond to the multidimensional needs of persons with dementia. Music therapists use musical interactions but are not trained to train carers. Therefore, our aim was to explore person attuned musical interactions (PAMI), and further to develop and evaluate a training manual to be used by music therapists when supporting and training carers in nonverbal communication with persons with late-stage dementia in nursing home contexts. 
Method: The research group carried out several subprojects, going through four phases of complex intervention research, continuously considering core elements related to person-centred dementia care and learning objectives. 
Results: The result was a training manual for qualified music therapists to use when teaching and collaborating with carers about how to implement PAMI in dementia care. The manual included comprehensive resources, a clear structure for training, defined learning objectives, and integration of theory. 
Discussion: With increased knowledge about caring values and nonverbal communication, nursing home cultures may develop carer competencies and provide professional attuned care for persons with dementia. Further piloting and testing to examine the general effect is needed.