‘Legacy: Participatory Music Practices with Elderly People as a Resource for the Well-being of Healthcare Professionals’ was a qualitative research project into the learning and well-being of hospital nurses and nursing home caregivers working with vulnerable elderly people and participating in live music practices Meaningful Music in Healthcare (MiMiC) and Music and Dementia in the Netherlands.The data collection (2016-2019) employed an ethnographic approach and data triangulation of participant observation, episodic interviews and group discussions. The constructivist grounded theory approach to data analysis proceeded from sensitising concepts to initial and focused coding, ultimately reconstructed into a thick description merging empirical data, theory and the researcher’s interpretations. The emerging core categories, Participation, Experience and Learning Benefits, were conceptualised within an epistemological framework of philosophical pragmatism.The findings suggest that, through an emerging community of practice, healthcare professionals could collaborate with musicians to connect with patients or residents. The collaboration enabled the use of shared musical experiences as a resource for compassionate care. Still, allowing oneself to participate musically and showing emotional vulnerability were challenging. The accumulation of ‘experiencing’ and collegial encouragement supported healthcare professionals’ participation beyond their professional performance.Person-centred music-making resonated with the values of person-centred care. It enabled healthcare professionals to take time and become engaged with patients or residents in musical situations. Healthcare professionals described gaining new understandings of the patients or residents and each other, which could be seen promoting a cultural shift from task-centredness towards relationship-focused person-centred care.Musicians’ communication provided new professional insights into teamwork. Also, observing patients and residents’ responses to the music evoked sympathetic joy in healthcare professionals. Looking through the eyes of ‘the other’ was central for nurses and caregivers’ meaning-making of the value of music-making and awareness of its impact on patients, residents and themselves. The perceived benefits of the music practices for healthcare professionals’ job resources and satisfaction seemed connected to changes in care relationships, work atmosphere, sense of mindfulness and recognition.The conclusions of the research suggest that participatory music practices might be considered as supportive of delivering person-centred care. The findings could be applied in training programmes and professional development of musicians, nurses and caregivers.
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Background: Up to one third of all stroke patients suffer fromone or more psychosocial impairments. Recognition and treatment of these impairments are essential in improving psychosocial well-being after stroke. Although nurses are ideally positioned to address psychosocial well-being, they often feel insecure about providing the needed psychosocial care. Therefore, we expect that providing nurses with better knowledge to deliver this care could lead to an improvement in psychosocialwell-being after stroke. Currently it is not knownwhich interventions are effective and what aspects of these interventions are most effective to improve psychosocial wellbeing after stroke. Objective: To identify potentially effective interventions – and intervention components – which can be delivered by nurses to improve patients' psychosocial well-being after stroke. Methods: A systematic review and data synthesis of randomized controlled trials and quasi experimental studies was conducted. Papers were included according to the following criteria: 1) before-after design, 2) all types of stroke patients, 3) interventions that can be delivered by nurses, 4) the primary outcome(s) were psychosocial. PubMed, Embase, PsychInfo, CINAHL and Cochrane library were searched (August 2019–April 2022). Articles were selected based on title, abstract, full text and quality. Quality was assessed by using Joanna Briggs Institute checklists and a standardized data extraction form developed by Joanna Brigss Institute was used to extract the data. Results: In total 60 studies were included, of which 52 randomized controlled trials, three non-randomized controlled trials, four quasi-experimental studies, and one randomized cross-over study. Nineteen studies had a clear psychosocial content, twenty-nine a partly psychosocial content, and twelve no psychosocial content. Thirty-nine interventions that showed positive effects on psychosocial well-being after stroke were identified. Effective intervention topics were found to be mood, recovery, coping, emotions, consequences/problems after stroke, values and needs, risk factors and secondary prevention, self-management, andmedicationmanagement. Active information and physical exercise were identified as effective methods of delivery. Discussion: The results suggest that interventions to improve psychosocial well-being should include the intervention topics and methods of delivery that were identified as effective. Since effectiveness of the intervention can depend on the interaction of intervention components, these interactions should be studied. Nurses and patients should be involved in the development of such interventions to ensure it can be used by nurses and will help improve patients' psychosocial well-being.
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Poor well-being amongst older adults poses a serious health concern. Simultaneously, research shows that contact with nature can improve various facets of well-being, including physical, social, and mental well-being. However, nature is not always accessible for older adults due to mobility restrictions and related care needs that come with age. A promising strategy aims at bringing nature inside through pervasive technologies. However, so far, there is little academic understanding of essential nature characteristics, psychological processes involved, and means for implementation in practice. The current study used a three-folded rapid review to assess current understanding and strategies used for improving well-being for older adults through virtual reality representations of nature. Searches were performed across three databases, followed-up by content-based evaluation of abstracts. In total, a set of 25 relevant articles was identified. Only three studies specifically focus on digital nature as an intervention strategy for improving well-being amongst older adults. Although these studies provide useful starting points for the design and (technological) development of such environments, they do not generate understanding of how specific characteristics of virtual nature representations impact social well-being measures in particular, and of the underlying psychological processes involved. We conclude that follow-up research is warranted to close the gap between insights and findings from nature research, gerontology, health research, and human-technology interaction.
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As the Dutch population is aging, the field of music-in-healthcare keeps expanding. Healthcare, institutionally and at home, is multiprofessional and demands interprofessional collaboration. Musicians are sought-after collaborators in social and healthcare fields, yet lesser-known agents of this multiprofessional group. Although live music supports social-emotional wellbeing and vitality, and nurtures compassionate care delivery, interprofessional collaboration between musicians, social work, and healthcare professionals remains marginal. This limits optimising and integrating music-making in the care. A significant part of this problem is a lack of collaborative transdisciplinary education for music, social, and healthcare students that deep-dives into the development of interprofessional skills. To meet the growing demand for musical collaborations by particularly elderly care organisations, and to innovate musical contributions to the quality of social and healthcare in Northern Netherlands, a transdisciplinary education for music, physiotherapy, and social work studies is needed. This project aims to equip multiprofessional student groups of Hanze with interprofessional skills through co-creative transdisciplinary learning aimed at innovating and improving musical collaborative approaches for working with vulnerable, often older people. The education builds upon experiential learning in Learning LABs, and collaborative project work in real-life care settings, supported by transdisciplinary community forming.The expected outcomes include a new concept of a transdisciplinary education for HBO-curricula, concrete building blocks for a transdisciplinary arts-in-health minor study, innovative student-led approaches for supporting the care and wellbeing of (older) vulnerable people, enhanced integration of musicians in interprofessional care teams, and new interprofessional structures for educational collaboration between music, social work and healthcare faculties.
The findings suggests that participation in music practices can significantly support caregivers' and nurses' contact with the people to whom they give care and the healthcare professionals' insights into the patients' and residents' personhood. Music can create experienced changes in the care environment through kairotic moments of connectivity and intimacy of the musical interaction. The music sessions support and reinforce the person-centred values of care delivery.The meaning of participatory music practices for the well-being and learning of healthcare professionals working with ageing patients and nursing home residents.
