The consortium aimed at achieving the realisation of: (i) a curriculum for the training of dementia social and health care professionals and informal carers in the use of passive and active music making activities ; (ii) music contents and activities for OPDs that can be used (either in person or remotely) by both professionals and informal carers; (iii) a Virtual Music Circle (VMC), i.e. a digital learning platform, for social and health care workers, OPDs and informal carers; (iv) a series of materials for a European awareness campaign on dementia, with the aim of contributing to strengthening dementia friendly communities.
Dementia is a collective name for progressive degenerative brain syndromes which affect memory, thinking, behaviour and emotion. According to the WHO, there are about 50 million people with dementia in the world and about 10 million new cases are registered every year. The majority of older people with dementia (OPD) needs round-the-clock supervision and assistance, lives at home, and receive most of their care from informal carers (i.e., a family member, a friend or a neighbour). The specific symptoms of dementia (agitation, anxiety, irritability, lability as well as night-time behavioural disturbances) often entail high-intensity caregiving situations. Nowaday, there is not cure for dementia and the available medicines act on the symptoms of the disease not on its causes and they have many adverse effects. Non-pharmacological interventions seem to have positive effects on older people with dementia (OPD). Among these there are interventions based on music, meant both as the production of rythms and sounds and listening to them. The SOUND project wanted to design and test the efficacy of the methodology of a new music based intervention that could be implemented by dementia care professionals and not only by music therapists.