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A new music therapy engagement scale for persons with dementia
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 May 2018
Abstract
To develop and validate a new scale to assess music therapy engagement in persons with dementia (PWDs).
A draft scale was derived from literature review and >2 years of qualitative recording of PWDs during music therapy. Content validity was attained through iterative consultations, trial sessions, and revisions. The final five-item Music Therapy Engagement scale for Dementia (MTED) assessed music and non-music related elements. Internal consistency and inter-rater reliability were assessed over 120 music therapy sessions. MTED was validated with the Greater Cincinnati Chapter Well-being Observation Tool, Holden Communication Scale, and Participant Engagement Observation Checklist – Music Sessions.
A total of 62 PWDs (83.2 ± 7.7 years, modified version of the mini-mental state examination = 13.2/30 ± 4.1) in an acute hospital dementia unit were involved.
The mean MTED score was 13.02/30 ± 4.27; internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.87) and inter-rater reliability (intra-class correlation = 0.96) were good. Principal component analysis revealed a one-factor structure with Eigen value > 1 (3.27), which explained 65.4% of the variance. MTED demonstrated good construct validity. The MTED total score correlated strongly with the combined items comprising Pleasure, Interest, Sadness, and Sustained attention of the Greater Cincinnati Chapter Well-being Observation Tool (rs = 0.88, p < 0.001).
MTED is a clinically appropriate and psychometrically valid scale to evaluate music therapy engagement in PWDs.
Keywords
- Type
- Original Research Article
- Information
- International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 31 , Issue 1: Issue Theme: Parkinson's Disease , January 2019 , pp. 49 - 58
- Copyright
- Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2018
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