Music therapy for reducing agitation and psychotropic medication in nursing home residents with dementia

Dementia is a neurocognitive disease with a high risk of social isolation and agitation due to loss of cognitive functions. In nursing home residents with dementia, agitation is the most significant symptom causing patient distress and care- giver burden. Agitation is described as abuse or aggressive or
inappropriate behaviour. According to a psychosocial model of care, agitation is understood as attempts to communicate psychosocial needs. The prevalence of agitation is predicted by the psychosocial culture of care, and too often symptoms of agitation are treated with psychotropic medication without first trying the efficacy of psychosocial interventions. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of research on the effectiveness of music therapy on agitation and psychotropic medication.