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Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community singing on mental health-related quality of life of older people: randomised controlled trial

Coulton, Simon, Clift, Stephen, Skingley, Ann, Rodriguez, John (2015) Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community singing on mental health-related quality of life of older people: randomised controlled trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 207 (2). ISSN 0007-1250. E-ISSN 1472-1465. (doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.113.129908) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:49082)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.113.129908

Abstract

Background

As the population ages, older people account for a greater proportion of the health and social care budget. Whereas some research has been conducted on the use of music therapy for specific clinical populations, little rigorous research has been conducted looking at the value of community singing on the mental health-related quality of life of older people.

Aims

To evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community group singing for a population of older people in England.

Method

A pilot pragmatic individual randomised controlled trial comparing group singing with usual activities in those aged 60 years or more.

Results

A total of 258 participants were recruited across five centres in East Kent. At 6 months post-randomisation, significant differences were observed in terms of mental health-related quality of life measured using the SF12 (mean difference = 2.35; 95% CI = 0.06–4.76) in favour of group singing. In addition, the intervention was found to be marginally more cost-effective than usual activities. At 3 months, significant differences were observed for the mental health components of quality of life (mean difference = 4.77; 2.53–7.01), anxiety (mean difference = ?1.78; ?2.5 to ?1.06) and depression (mean difference = ?1.52; ?2.13 to ?0.92).

Conclusions

Community group singing appears to have a significant effect on mental health-related quality of life, anxiety and depression, and it may be a useful intervention to maintain and enhance the mental health of older people.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1192/bjp.bp.113.129908
Subjects: M Music and Books on Music > M Music
R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC952 Geriatrics
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research > Centre for Health Services Studies
Depositing User: Simon Coulton
Date Deposited: 19 Jun 2015 08:38 UTC
Last Modified: 17 Aug 2022 10:58 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/49082 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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