音樂治療於失智症老人之應用

音樂治療常被建議作為降低失智症患者不適切行為的有效措施，能幫助照顧者以非藥物或身體約束的方式處理失智症老人的負向行為及症狀，進而提升照護品質。過去研究大多心理學、大腦與神經科學觀點來解釋音樂治療的療效。對於失智症老人來說，團體性音樂治療較適合運用於身體及認知狀況較好的病人，執行前須先評估個別性，如生理狀況及個人音樂偏好等，動作應簡單，時間不宜過長。研究證實音樂治療的介入措施下，失智症老人的肢體暴力、躁動、憂鬱與焦慮等不適切的行為與症狀得到改善，對於認知能力、記憶力、活動參與度及社交行為也有正向影響。綜合以上，音樂治療近來已日益受到重視，對於護理人員而言是一個良好的照護工具，如何應用科學實證基礎，發展出具有台灣特色的音樂療法，是往後應該努力的目標。

關鍵字

失智症老人；音樂治療

並列摘要

Music therapy is often recommended as an effective measure to reduce discomfort in patients with dementia. It can help caregivers to deal with the negative behavior and symptoms of dementia in elderly in a manner that does not involve drugs or physical restraints, thereby improving the quality of care. Previous studies investigated the effect of music therapy in view of psychology, brain or neuroscience. For the elderly patients with dementia, group music therapy is more suitable, particularly for those with a better physical and cognitive status. Before the implementation, individual assessment should be done, such as of physical conditions and personal music preferences. The action in music therapy should be simple and its duration should not be too long. The study evidenced that physical violence, restlessness, depression, anxiety, and other inappropriate behaviors and symptoms improved after intervention of music therapy in elderly with dementia. In addition, there was a positive impact on cognitive ability, memory, activity engagement, and social behavior. Based on the above, music therapy has recently received increasing attention and is a good tool for the caregivers. Developing music therapy in the Taiwanese context based on the scientific evidence should be the goal for future studies.