The impact of an improvised music-making programme on care home staff well-being: a process evaluation
Music in Mind Training Study.
Key People: Professor John Keady (PI), Dr Robyn Dowlen (PDRA), Dr Henry Mcpherson (PDRA)
Cultural Partner: Manchester Camerata
In June 2022, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) School for Social Care Reserah (SSCR) awarded researchers at The University of Manchester, Manchester Camerata, and the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust an 18-month grant to evaluate the impact of Music in Mind Training.
The project, ‘The impact of an improvised music-making programme on care home staff wellbeing: a process evaluation’, concluded in early 2024 after a no-cost extension was granted by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The research team has evaluated the impact of a new online music training programme for care home staff that is based around Manchester Camerata’s Music in Mind programme for people living with dementia.
During the study, the team has focused on understanding how the online Music in Mind Training has impacted upon the wellbeing of care home staff who have participated in the programme, and how Music in Mind techniques feed into their daily practice.
Using a range of creative and empowering social research methods, including shared online observations of the online Music in Mind interactive sessions and interviews with care home staff, the team have created a ‘theory of change’ model to visually represent what needs to be in place for this work to be impactful, and for opportunities to enhance practice and wellbeing.
The model exists in several iterations, ranging from a ‘complex model’ exploring the mechanisms of change which underpin the programme in detail, to an accessible postcard version created with significant input from the Open Doors Research Group.
This study is a tremendous opportunity to better understand how change occurs in improvised music making for people living with dementia and the well-being effects that this can have on all those taking part in the sessions, especially care home staff and family carers
Professor John Keady
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Outputs
In 2024, Dr Robyn Dowlen, Dr Henry Mcpherson and Prof John Keady hosted a webinar to discuss the findings of the research and to share their theory of change model developed during the study.
As part of the Patient & Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) engagement of the recently completed NIHR SSCR study ‘The impact of an improvised music-making programme on care home staff well-being'.
Researchers at The University of Manchester came together with the Open Doors Research Group, and graphic designer A Studio Called Jane, to co-create a vinyl record sleeve exploring the importance of musical moments to people living with dementia.
Open Doors, a self-advocacy group of people living with dementia and their families facilitated by Cath Riley (Greater Manchester Mental Health Foundation Trust), collaborated with members of the research team and artist Jane Bowyer to reflect on the importance of music for people living with dementia, as well as the role of musical objects as marking significant points in our lives.
Through workshops, discussions, and shared reflections, the group co-designed a vibrant, dynamic record sleeve which illustrated significant musical moments from the group members’ lived experience (complete with a track list of imagined songs!)
The Open Doors Research Group were also critical in developing an accessible, postcard sized version of the Theory of Change model which was formed part of the study’s main outputs.
The vinyl sleeve piece will be permanently displayed at The Woodlands, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. The collaboration was nominated for an Faculty of Medicine, Biology and Health Excellence in PPIE award in 2024.
In November 2023, as part of an NIHR SSCR funded study, the Music in Mind team brought their music cafe experience to The University of Manchester campus for researchers to experience, alongside attendees from the arts and healthcare in Greater Manchester.
It was a special immersive event for those attending allowing them to let their guard down and create an improvised piece of music.
This was followed by a lively discussion about creative interventions in healthcare more widely and a Q&A with Manchester Camarata’s musicians and music therapists.