Dr. Hannah O'Rourke - 2023 Cluster Recipient
Music Connects Us: Experiences of a Community-Led Music Program to Promote Social Inclusion of People Living with Dementia in Care Homes
Project Lead: Dr. Hannah O'Rourke
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Nursing
Assessing how a novel program, Music Connects Us, can use musical improvisation to support people living with dementia to co-create beautiful music with their family members, friends and community-based musicians.
Project Description:
Over half a million Canadians live with dementia. Erroneous beliefs about people living with dementia lead to their exclusion from the communities that matter most to quality of life. Music-based group activity shows promise to address stigma and promote social inclusion of people living with dementia. This study will assess how a novel program, Music Connects Us, can use musical improvisation to support people living with dementia to co-create beautiful music with their family members, friends and community-based musicians. Participants will attend weekly, 1-hour long, Music Connects Us sessions for 8 weeks. Our evaluation will pay close attention to how participants experience and perceive Music Connects Us: Do they engage meaningfully during sessions? What strategies supported engagement? What are the potential benefits to address stigma and promote social inclusion? We aim to establish the feasibility and promise of Music Connects Us for use by symphonies and in future research.
University of Alberta Team Members:
- Dr. Hannah O'Rourke (PI)
- Dr. Tammy Hopper
- Dr. Holly Symonds-Brown
- Dr. Julia Byl
External Team Members:
- Anne-Marie Switzer - Winspear Center for Music
- Lydia Nickalls - Music for Life
- Dr. Micheal MacDonald - Grant MacEwan University
- Dr. Mandy Archibald - University of Manitoba
- Dr. Alison Chasteen - University of Toronto
- Dr. Matthias Hoben - York University
- Rachel Bar - Canada's National Ballet School