Music and Dance Therapy; The Effectiveness of Occupational Therapy Intervention in Preventing Depression amongst Persons living with Alzheimer in Lagos Nigeria

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundGlobally an estimate of 50 million people were living with Alzheimer in 2017. This number is predicted to reach 82 million in 2030 and 152 million in 2050.In older adults,Alzheimer and depression are associated with individual distress and with high societal cost of living especially in developing world.In the same vein depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide among the older adults;it co‐occurs and interacts with Alzheimer in many complex ways.In fact, depression has caused cognitive impairment, psychological and social dysfunctions which result to the increased in the risk of developing Alzheimer. Depression is very common in the early stages of Alzheimer and often lead to hospitalization.In Nigeria,Alzheimer is associated with terrible stigma on the client and affiliate stigma among the care givers leading to rejection based on the psychosis features and perceived myths of witchcraft which make people believe out of the ordinary as either mad or possessed by evil spirits. Hence there is dire need to psycho educate people of the evidence based practices on best ways in taking care of people with Alzheimer challenges.MethodDora‐care Behavioral foundation an NGO i founded is passionate about elderly care and their well being. 17 people were identified during Alzheimer awareness program. Intervention involved 16 sessions of music and dance (listening to and singing along) at one week interval, cognitive functions (memory, attention, judgment, perception, and decision making ability) were evaluated using cognitive function instruments before and after the intervention.ResultThe result indicated that 12 out of 17 clients showed significant improvement in attention, judgment, decision making ability and perception. However, there was no significant improvement in memory.ConclusionFindings show that music and dance therapies has significant improvement in treating Alzheimer and enhance self care.