Pragmatic Trial of Personalized Music for Agitation and Antipsychotic Use in Nursing Home Residents With Dementia

Objective To test the effect of a personalized music intervention on agitated behaviors and medication use among long-stay nursing home residents with dementia. Design Pragmatic, cluster-randomized controlled trial of a personalized music intervention. Staff in intervention facilities identified residents' early music preferences and offered music at early signs of agitation or when disruptive behaviors typically occur. Usual care in control facilities may include ambient or group music. Setting and Participants The study was conducted between June 2019 and February 2020 at 54 nursing homes (27 intervention and 27 control) in 10 states owned by 4 corporations. Methods Four-month outcomes were measured for each resident. The primary outcome was frequency of agitated behaviors using the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory. Secondary outcomes included frequency of agitated behaviors reported in the Minimum Data Set and the proportion of residents using antipsychotic, antidepressant, or antianxiety medications. Results The study included 976 residents with dementia [483 treatment and 493 control; mean age = 80.3 years (SD 12.3), 69% female, 25% African American]. CMAI scores were not significantly different (treatment: 50.67, SE 1.94; control: 49.34, SE 1.68) [average marginal effect (AME) 1.33, SE 1.38, 95% CI −1.37 to 4.03]. Minimum Data Set–based behavior scores were also not significantly different (treatment: 0.35, SE 0.13; control: 0.46, SE 0.11) (AME –0.11, SE 0.10, 95% CI −0.30 to 0.08). Fewer residents in intervention facilities used antipsychotics in the past week compared with controls (treatment: 26.2, SE 1.4; control: 29.6, SE 1.3) (AME –3.61, SE 1.85, 95% CI −7.22 to 0.00), but neither this nor other measures of psychotropic drug use were statistically significant. Conclusions and Implications Personalized music was not significantly effective in reducing agitated behaviors or psychotropic drug use among long-stay residents with dementia. Barriers to full implementation included engaging frontline nursing staff and identifying resident's preferred music.