Exploring the impact of live music performances on the wellbeing of community dwelling people living with dementia and their care partners

Background: Music-based initiatives cover a wide range of activity, including music therapy in either an individual or group capacity, choirs, orchestral performances, and apps on digital technology enabling people to engage with individual playlists. The impact of live music performances on the wellbeing of people living with dementia in the community is less well understood. Objective: To explore if attending a live music café impacts the wellbeing of community dwelling people living with dementia and their care partners. Study design: Twelve live music performances were hosted at a purpose refit facility at the authors’ institution, once a month between April 2018 and March 2019. Participants consenting to be part of the research included 7 people living with dementia, 7 care partners and 3 former care partners. Baseline semi-structured interviews explored the meaning of music and expectations of the upcoming music cafés. Dementia Care Mapping captured ‘in the moment’ experiences of each music café. Follow-up semi-structured focus groups explored the impact of music on wellbeing and if participant expectations had been met. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Main findings: The findings demonstrate that attending the music café benefitted the self-reported and observable wellbeing of participants in three particular ways: first, by offering opportunities for peer support and a reduction in feelings of isolation through a shared love of music; second, creating opportunities to increase wellbeing through music ‘in the moment’ that can have lasting effects long after the event; third, group interaction with music meets an unmet need for meaningful musical experiences in supportive enabling environments. Conclusions and implications: Live music is a powerful medium to promote wellbeing for community dwelling people living with dementia and care partners. A ‘music café’ format promotes wellbeing through opportunities to interact with others in non-judgemental and supportive environments to experience a shared joy of music.