UK Homeside team presents at lecture series and music therapy conference

In the past month the UK Homeside team have been presenting at a number of events, sharing the progress of the randomised controlled trial so far. The first event took place through the Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research (CIMTR) Public Research Lecture Series on 22nd March. We were very excited to be joined by some previous study participants, who had received the music or reading training during their involvement in the study. This provided an opportunity for the couples (and one trio!) to share their experience of taking part in a large research study, and what they have learned and gained from doing music and reading activities at home. The research team, including country lead Prof Helen Odell-Miller, assessors Dr Jonathan Pool and Dr Ming-Hung Hsu, and interventionists Jodie Bloska and Caroline Bone, also shared their experiences and some specific insights about conducting a research study online. The second event took place on 9 April as part of the British Association for Music Therapy Conference. In this presentation, to target the audience of mainly music therapists, the team focused more on the music intervention, including case examples shared by interventionist Sarah Crabtree and an overview of the music literature presented by Nina Wollersberger. The team were also joined by a member of the participant and public involvement (PPI) group, Caroline Halsey, who has been an active member of both the local and international PPI groups, where people with lived experiences of dementia are consulted on matters regarding the study to ensure it remains meaningful to people living with dementia and their informal caregivers. We look forward to sharing more about the study as it progresses and will keep you updated about further events as they occur!