Content development and validation for a mobile application designed to train family caregivers in the use of music to support care of people living with dementia

Zara Thompson; Jeanette Tamplin; Tanara Vieira Sousa; Romina Carrasco; Libby Flynn; Karen E Lamb; Amit Lampit; Nicola T Lautenschlager; Kate McMahon; Jenny Waycott; Adam P Vogel; Robyn Woodward-Kron; Phoebe A Stretton-Smith; Felicity A Baker

doi:10.3389/fmed.2023.1185818

Content development and validation for a mobile application designed to train family caregivers in the use of music to support care of people living with dementia

Front Med (Lausanne). 2023 May 12:10:1185818. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1185818. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Zara Thompson¹, Jeanette Tamplin¹, Tanara Vieira Sousa¹, Romina Carrasco², Libby Flynn¹, Karen E Lamb³, Amit Lampit⁴, Nicola T Lautenschlager^{4

5}, Kate McMahon¹, Jenny Waycott², Adam P Vogel^{6

7

8}, Robyn Woodward-Kron⁹, Phoebe A Stretton-Smith¹, Felicity A Baker^{1

10}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
² School of Computing and Information System, University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC, Australia.
³ Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Carlton, VIC, Australia.
⁴ Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
⁵ NorthWestern Mental Health, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
⁶ Center for Neuroscience and Speech, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
⁷ Division of Translational Genomics of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Germany and Center for Neurology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
⁸ Redenlab Inc., Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁹ Department of Medical Education, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
¹⁰ Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, Norway.

Abstract

Background: Music therapy is increasingly recognized as an effective support for people living with dementia. However, with incidences of dementia increasing, and limited availability of music therapists, there is a need for affordable and accessible ways that caregivers can learn to use music-therapy based strategies to support the people they care for. The MATCH project aims to address this by creating a mobile application that can train family caregivers in the use of music to support people living with dementia.

Methods: This study details the development and validation of training material for the MATCH mobile application. Training modules developed based on existing research were assessed by 10 experienced music therapist clinician-researchers, and seven family caregivers who had previously completed personalized training in music therapy strategies via the HOMESIDE project. Participants reviewed the content and scored each training module based on content (music therapists) and face (caregivers) validity scales. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate scores on the scales, while thematic analysis was used to analyze short-answer feedback.

Results: Participants scored the content as valid and relevant, however, they provided additional suggestions for improvement via short-answer feedback.

Conclusion: The content developed for the MATCH application is valid and will be trailed by family caregivers and people living with dementia in a future study.

Keywords: caregiver; dementia; eHealth; music therapy; technology.