Introduction: Dementia refers to a clinical syndrome characterized by progressive cognitive decline. It presents the seventh leading cause of disability and dependency among the elderly worldwide. Music therapy and other music interventions are used in several fields of health care to meet physical, psychological, social and mental needs of individuals. Music and music interventions can thus represent a potential non-pharmacological method of relieving symptoms in people suffering from dementia. Purpose: With this diploma thesis, we wish to present music intervention as one of the possible additional interventions in nursing care and present the possibility of including therapeutic use of music in the work process. Methods: In the diploma thesis a descriptive research method was used with a systematic review of Slovenian and foreign literature. The literature was selected trough the digital library of the University of Ljubljana in several databases: Medline, Cinahl, and Science Direct. The search for Slovenian literature was carried out in COBISS+ system and databases of scientific journals: Zdravstveno varstvo, Zdravniški vestnik and Obzornik zdravstvene nege. Google Scholar was also used. Results: The results of the analyzed studies show that the use of music therapy and music interventions is an effective non-pharmacological approach that positively affects people with dementia. Music can be incorporated into their care in many ways, namely by performing music therapy, playing and listening to the music, and performing other activities accompanied by music. Music therapy and music interventions are most commonly performed by trained music therapists. Most nurses and other caregivers believe in the positive effect of music interventions. However, due to their poor or lacking knowledge of the interventions, they rarely include music therapy in their work. Discussion and conclusion: Qualified music therapists or other music professionals should play an important role in the training and education of healthcare professionals in the field of music intervention and music therapy. Some studies suggests that healthcare professionals show an interest in learning the different approaches of incorporating music into their work. When designing educational programs, their views and expectations regarding the use of music in the care of people with dementia should be understood and taken into account. However, despite the growing interest in including music into the care of people with dementia, this field needs to be further researched.
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