Jodie Bloska Profile

Jodie Bloska Profile

Clinical Research Fellow

“Everybody should be able to access music.”

Jodie Bloska has been part of the CIMTR team for two years now, joining as a Research Assistant in 2018. Her direct role in the project is as both a research assistant and music interventionist and she is currently completing her PhD, which is connected to the Homeside research project.

In addition to directly delivering the music interventions, Jodie co-ordinates the team of interventionists, facilitating the practical aspects of the intervention delivery, for example getting booklets printed, organising the required equipment for both the participants and researchers, and helping ensure all technology is set up. She also acts as a liaison between the interventionists and clinical trial managers (as they must remain blinded to the intervention allocation of participants) s, for example notifying the trial managers when each stage of data collection is required, to ensure participants smoothly transition through the study stages. She collates feedback from anybody involved in the trial concerning adjustments that may be required for the study, as well as sharing conversations about publications that will be happening.

Jodie and I discussed the skill sharing aspects of her role as a music interventionist. The intervention is viewed as indirect music therapy, as the therapist provides ideas to the caregiver, to encourage and support shared activity between the caregiver and care recipient. Jodie emphasised how the interventionists are aiming to demonstrate how interactive the activities they share with each dyad can be. She also noted the importance of being flexible in trying to specifically design each activity for the dyad. We considered how the research study demonstrates the importance of handing over specialised knowledge from a music therapist to a caregiver and how we want to encourage this skill sharing.

Jodie commented on how the intervention is an ongoing learning experience. The interventionists have international supervisions, having the opportunity to share approaches with interventionists who are practicing in other countries. Furthermore, the study includes working with occupational therapists, who deliver the reading interventions. Jodie acknowledged the benefit of working with different professions, who can provide new insights and guidance about how the interventions can be delivered to participants. The nature of multi-disciplinary professional working is greatly beneficial for the interventionists and participants in the study.

Jodie is also involved in ensuring ethical approval is attained for the study. She explained the importance of ethics, and how research is facilitated through the ethics process (despite it sometimes feeling like an obstacle!). For example, she detailed the many layers that exist within NHS research ethics approval process, which is required when working with individuals who might have impaired capacity to give informed consent. She spoke about how this process involves a thorough look at the design of the study, to provide guidance on how it could be improved so that the outcomes will be robust as well as ensure that participants understand their role in the study and the safety of everyone involved.

Jodie trained as a music therapist at Anglia Ruskin University, qualifying in 2015. Prior to this training, she completed an undergraduate degree at McMaster University in Canada, studying music cognition and psychology. Jodie talked about the valuable learning experiences she gained during her placements in a school and at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability in London, whilst she trained as a music therapist. Prior to moving to the UK, Jodie had previously volunteered in care homes, working with people with dementia. After qualifying she continued to work in this client group, spending three years as a music therapist at MHA care homes in Manchester. Alongside working for Homeside she works at The Marbrook Centre in Cambridgeshire and is a supervisor for students training as music therapists at ARU. Her role within the university has also been extended to include teaching Principles of Music Therapy to undergraduate students.

Jodie’s PhD is titled: Exploring the mechanisms and neural dynamics of indirect music therapy for people with dementia and their family caregivers. Her research is addressing the vital support that is required for people living with dementia and their family caregivers. She is interested in finding out what is happening in the moment when people with dementia and their caregivers take part in music activities together, and how this can have an impact on relationships as well as symptoms of dementia such as anxiety or apathy. The main outcome measures that Jodie will be investigating is the Neuro-psychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) and the Quality of Caregiver-Patient Relationship (QCPR), and is also hoping to do a follow-up study using brain imaging during the Homeside interventions. Jodie has always had an interest in research. She was fascinated by music psychology, and read extensively about dementia and people in the community. She emphasised how important informal caregivers are in adding to the conversations surrounding support that can be given in the home setting.

By Hannah Merchant, Student Research Assistant