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Dementia is a neurodegenerative syndrome that can lead to profound psychological and social challenges for people with dementia and their informal caregivers. Previous research has found positive effects of arts‐based interventions for people with dementia and caregivers that have been dyadic in nature and the present article sought to review these findings. A systematic literature review was conducted to investigate psychosocial outcomes of dyadic arts interventions. PsychINFO, Medline, Web of Science and ASSIA databases (from journal inception to March 2020) were searched as well as Google Scholar and reference lists of relevant studies were searched. Interventions were delivered to people with dementia and their caregivers in community‐based settings across five countries. Thirteen peer‐reviewed journal articles met the criteria for inclusion in this review, six focusing on performing arts and seven on visual arts. The findings suggested that choral singing and visual arts interventions may have positive effects on psychosocial outcomes for both people with dementia and their informal caregivers. Improved well‐being, quality of life, mood, enhanced identity and decreased social isolation were found in some studies. Importantly, across all studies, participants reported enjoying arts activities. This is the first review to systematically assess dyadic arts activities in a dementia context. These activities offer enjoyable and engaging experiences for many person with dementia and caregivers and were generally found to have positive results but mostly small sample size, lack of control groups and different outcome measures made comparisons challenging. Future research recommendations include further theoretical development, identifying key intervention components, and specifying relevant and measurable theoretically informed outcomes within dyadic interventions for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This literature review examined the existing evidence base for the impact of both live and recorded music interventions involving active participation in a dementia population. Methodology: PsycINFO, Medline, CINAHL, Web of Science, PubMed and Cochrane Library were searched and 15 studies met inclusion criteria. Results: There was a positive impact on behavioural and psychological symptoms, quality of life, communication and some aspects of cognitive function; methodological limitations, however, make it difficult to offer firm conclusions. Interventions using recorded music resulted in more consistent positive behavioural and psychological outcomes, whereas interventions using live music reported a benefit to communication and relationships. Conclusions: Although live and recorded music showed benefits, and should be considered in dementia care, the use of different outcome measures made definitive comparisons problematic. In order to better understand mechanisms of change, one future research area should explore how group music interventions affect communication by more closely assessing processes during live and recorded music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives Research has indicated the benefit of music interventions on biological, psychological, and cognitive aspects of dementias, yet there is limited research focusing on music's role in communication. This study developed a conceptual understanding of how people with late-stage dementia may express themselves nonverbally and interact with others during a live music group over time. Research Design and Methods Eight people with advanced dementias in residential care (aged 82–97 years), four care staff, and three musicians participated in 8-hr-long weekly live Music for Life sessions and listened to 1-hr-long recorded music session. Visual grounded theory was used to analyze video data collected nonintrusively via the Fly 360-degree camera. Results The live music group facilitated a multisensory communicative environment allowing for verbal and nonverbal communicative actions, social interactional components and agency to develop over time. These aspects were influenced by three factors: time, one-to-one interaction within a group setting and the characteristics of the music. Discussion and Implications Nonverbal communication in later-stage dementia may be overlooked or underestimated by busy care staff and families. Using music as an interactive way to communicate can help develop mirroring and turn-taking which has been shown to improve quality of life for people with communication impairment, increase their nonverbal communication and allow for a connection to be built between people. Although further research is recommended, individuals responsible for residential care should feel confident that the development of ongoing music groups for this population is warranted as part of ongoing care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate factors influencing referral of children with physical illness to paediatric psychology. Due to high rates of mental health problems within this population, studies have shown that referral to paediatric psychology should be increased. However, few studies have examined factors shaping healthcare professionals' referral behaviour. Methods: This study used the theory of planned behaviour to develop a questionnaire which explores factors influencing the referral of children and families to paediatric psychology. Psychometric properties of the questionnaire were examined. Results: The questionnaire was found to have good reliability and validity. The main constructs of the theory of planned behaviour were useful in predicting intention to refer to paediatric psychology. Specific beliefs about referral were shown to influence intention to refer. Conclusion: Findings suggest that individual attitudes and beliefs can impact healthcare professionals' referral behaviour, indicating that multidisciplinary interventions and inter-professional education relating to the psychological aspects of illness are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The psycho-social contexts of older lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) individuals suggest that they may face unique strengths and barriers in accessing social support. The present review aimed to explore what is known about this by providing a synthesis of this area of research and a methodological critique. The Applied Social Sciences Index (ASSIA), Psychinfo and Medline databases were searched and 22 relevant articles were identified. Key findings were extracted and quality was assessed using a standardised rating scale. The findings indicated that although many older LGB people report similar-sized support networks to older heterosexuals, more support came from friends and less from biological family members. Many reported not receiving enough support; it is possible that differences in care-giving between friends and family and anticipated social support difficulties due to previous LGB-stigma experiences partially account for this. Current recruitment strategies may mean that more-connected older LGB people are over-represented in research. There is a lack of research with the 'old-old' population, bisexual people, those with significant health needs, those outside the United States of America and those with additional characteristics associated with discrimination. Practical and research implications are discussed and it is suggested that friendship–carer dyads may need support to have more explicit discussions about care-giving roles due to a lack of societal templates for these kinds of relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dementia diagnoses are typically made where there is a significant, progressive decline in cognitive functioning. Evidence of such decline is increasingly established through information provided by informants. However, some studies demonstrate that informant reports may not always be accurate and may be biased by extraneous factors. This review aimed to elucidate factors that have been identified as potentially having some influence on informant reports of cognitive decline. Method: A search of PsychInfo, ASSIA, PubMed and Web of Science databases identified 13 peer-reviewed studies that met criteria for inclusion in the review. Results: Reviewed studies provide some evidence for associations between informant-reported cognitive decline and demographic characteristics (patient age, education, ethnicity and informant gender), clinical factors (dementia severity, diagnosis, behavioural disturbance, everyday functioning) and psychological factors (patient depressive symptoms and neuroticism, informant psychological distress and burden). Several methodological limitations of the evidence base were identified. Conclusion: Findings suggest that informant-reported cognitive decline may not always be wholly reliable in that information holds potential to be influenced by both patient and informant characteristics. Clinical and empirical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a quasi-experimental design (N = 80), this study examined the wellbeing impact of handling museum artefacts, by testing for differences across domain, time, gender and stages of dementia. The results indicated that people with early and moderate impairment showed positive increases in wellbeing, regardless of the type of dementia but those with early stage dementia showed larger positive increases in wellbeing. We can feel confident that for most people with early- to middle-stage dementia, handling museum objects in a supportive group environment increases subjective wellbeing and should be considered part of a health promotion strategy in dementia care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]