Introduction
The following article investigates the issue of music and its influence on the health of people. The author underlines the fact that music can be used as one of the main methods which can diminish agitation (Gill & Englert, 2013). A decrease of this phenomenon, in its turn, can lead to some improvements in the situation connected with dementia as agitation is known to be one of the factors which promote an increase in the number of people suffering from this disease. That is why the authors investigate the issue of the relation between music and dementia in order to find the best solution to the existing problem.
Resting on these facts, the authors suggest their own hypothesis. In the work, they try to find evidence to the statement that music is able to reduce falls in institutionalized persons with dementia (Gill & Englert, 2013). Stating the fact that agitation is one of the most common syndromes for people who have severe dementia, the authors want to show a correlation between music and agitation and the positive influence of the first issue on the health of a person. Underlining the fact that it is very difficult to manage agitation, the work suggests music as one of the possible solutions to this problem.
Main body
To investigate the problem better and provide credible evidence for their statement, the authors conduct some experiments. “A quasi-experimental 1-group time-series design was conducted on a 55-bed dementia unit in a long-term care facility” (Gill & Englert, 2013, p. 563). Residents were studied for a long period of time, including 3 and 12 months before the intervention. The authors tried to control many different variables, however, fall rates of residents were emphasized and measured. Having conducted their experiment, the researchers compared different showings in order to find whether their hypothesis was true or not and whether music can really improve the situation.
Having obtained the data from their research and analyzed it, the authors come to a certain conclusion. They underline the fact that usually there was a 97% increase in falls during the autumn and winter periods. However, having conducted their experiment, the authors admit the decrease in this percentage. Basing on the statistics, obtained from the research, they are able to state only a 38% increase in falls in the autumn and winter periods. Moreover, the level of agitation is also significantly lower if to compare it with its showings without music intervention. That is why, the positive influence of music on people, who have dementia, could not be denied. It guarantees some improvement in the health of a patient and his good mood.
Conclusion
Having read and analyzed this article, it is possible to state some obvious facts. This work has great practical and theoretical utility. Results obtained in the course of research can be used in practice as they can guarantee the improvement of the state of people who suffer from dementia. This research proves the idea of the positive influence of music on people, that is why further investigations of this issue can be suggested and give even more ways to help people. Moreover, it is possible to use the knowledge obtained from this article in practice while looking after patients who suffer from similar problems. Taking into account the positive influence of music, it is possible to suggest its widespread use in nursing practice. With this in mind, this work can be called very useful and informative.
Reference
Gill, L. & Englert, N. (2013). A Music Intervention’s Effect on Falls in a Dementia Unit. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners 9(9), 562-567. Web.