There is increasing evidence of the benefits of music, in particular singing, for people with Par... more There is increasing evidence of the benefits of music, in particular singing, for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Current research has primarily focused on vocal or motor symptoms. Our aim was to examine the immediate emotional effects of group singing in people with PD, and whether the type of music sung (familiar vs. unfamiliar songs) moderates these effects. We also explored whether differences in music reward modulate the emotional effects of group singing in people with PD. 11 participants with PD completed the Positive And Negative Affect Schedule in three conditions: immediately after group singing (1) familiar songs, (2) unfamiliar songs, and (3) no singing, in addition to the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire. There was no significant difference in positive affect scores between the two singing conditions (familiar/unfamiliar songs). Positive affect scores were higher in the singing (collapsed across familiar and unfamiliar songs) than no singing condition. There ...
Objective: Parkinson’s disease (PD) has a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQo... more Objective: Parkinson’s disease (PD) has a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Previous studies have shown that participating in group singing activities can improve quality of life in some patient populations (e.g., people with chronic mental health or neurological conditions). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of group singing on HRQoL for people diagnosed with PD. Methods: Eleven participants (mean age 70.6 years) with a formal diagnosis of PD between Hoehn and Yahr Stages I – III were recruited from a community singing group for people with PD, their family and their carers. Participants’ perceptions of the effect of group singing on their quality of life were captured in a semi-structured interview. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative methodology, informed data collection and analysis. Results: The IPA analysis revealed six categories that characterised the effects of group singing: physical, mood, cognitive funct...
Music & Medicine (authors: Amee D. Baird, Romane Abell, William Forde Thompson, Nicolas J. Bullot, Maggie Haertsch, & Kerry A. Chalmers), 2018
There is increasing evidence of the benefits of music, in particular singing, for people with Par... more There is increasing evidence of the benefits of music, in particular singing, for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Current research has primarily focused on vocal or motor symptoms. Our aim was to examine the immediate emotional effects of group singing in people with PD, and whether the type of music sung (familiar vs. unfamiliar songs) moderates these effects. We also explored whether differences in music reward modulate the emotional effects of group singing in people with PD. 11 participants with PD completed the Positive And Negative Affect Schedule in three conditions: immediately after group singing (1) familiar songs, (2) unfamiliar songs, and (3) no singing. They also completed the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire. Positive affect scores were higher in the singing (collapsed across familiar and unfamiliar songs) than no-singing condition. There was no significant difference in positive affect scores between the two singing conditions (familiar/unfamiliar songs). There was a positive but not statistically significant relationship between music reward and positive affect scores after singing. This study documents enhanced positive affect in people with PD immediately after group singing. This has clinical implications for the use of singing as a therapeutic intervention in people with PD.
Parkinson's disease (PD) has a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL).... more Parkinson's disease (PD) has a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Previous studies have shown that participating in group singing activities can improve quality of life in some patient populations (e.g., people with chronic mental health or neurological conditions). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of group singing on HRQoL for people diagnosed with PD. Eleven participants (mean age 70.6 years) with a formal diagnosis of PD between Hoehn and Yahr Stages I-III were recruited from a community singing group for people with PD, their family and their carers. Participants' perceptions of the effect of group singing on their quality of life were captured in a semistructured interview. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative methodology, informed data collection and analysis. The IPA analysis revealed 6 categories that characterized the effects of group singing: physical, mood, cognitive functioning, social connectedness, "flow-on" effects, and sense-of-self. All participants reported positive effects across at least 4 of these categories. Three participants reported a negative effect in 1 category (physical, mood, or sense-of-self). The results suggest that group singing improved HRQoL with all participants reporting positive effects regardless of PD stage or symptom severity. Weekly engagement in group singing resulted in multiple benefits for the participants and counteracted some of the negative effects of PD. These findings suggest that group singing "gives back" some of what PD "takes away." (PsycINFO Database Record
There is increasing evidence of the benefits of music, in particular singing, for people with Par... more There is increasing evidence of the benefits of music, in particular singing, for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Current research has primarily focused on vocal or motor symptoms. Our aim was to examine the immediate emotional effects of group singing in people with PD, and whether the type of music sung (familiar vs. unfamiliar songs) moderates these effects. We also explored whether differences in music reward modulate the emotional effects of group singing in people with PD. 11 participants with PD completed the Positive And Negative Affect Schedule in three conditions: immediately after group singing (1) familiar songs, (2) unfamiliar songs, and (3) no singing, in addition to the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire. There was no significant difference in positive affect scores between the two singing conditions (familiar/unfamiliar songs). Positive affect scores were higher in the singing (collapsed across familiar and unfamiliar songs) than no singing condition. There ...
Objective: Parkinson’s disease (PD) has a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQo... more Objective: Parkinson’s disease (PD) has a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Previous studies have shown that participating in group singing activities can improve quality of life in some patient populations (e.g., people with chronic mental health or neurological conditions). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of group singing on HRQoL for people diagnosed with PD. Methods: Eleven participants (mean age 70.6 years) with a formal diagnosis of PD between Hoehn and Yahr Stages I – III were recruited from a community singing group for people with PD, their family and their carers. Participants’ perceptions of the effect of group singing on their quality of life were captured in a semi-structured interview. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative methodology, informed data collection and analysis. Results: The IPA analysis revealed six categories that characterised the effects of group singing: physical, mood, cognitive funct...
Music & Medicine (authors: Amee D. Baird, Romane Abell, William Forde Thompson, Nicolas J. Bullot, Maggie Haertsch, & Kerry A. Chalmers), 2018
There is increasing evidence of the benefits of music, in particular singing, for people with Par... more There is increasing evidence of the benefits of music, in particular singing, for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Current research has primarily focused on vocal or motor symptoms. Our aim was to examine the immediate emotional effects of group singing in people with PD, and whether the type of music sung (familiar vs. unfamiliar songs) moderates these effects. We also explored whether differences in music reward modulate the emotional effects of group singing in people with PD. 11 participants with PD completed the Positive And Negative Affect Schedule in three conditions: immediately after group singing (1) familiar songs, (2) unfamiliar songs, and (3) no singing. They also completed the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire. Positive affect scores were higher in the singing (collapsed across familiar and unfamiliar songs) than no-singing condition. There was no significant difference in positive affect scores between the two singing conditions (familiar/unfamiliar songs). There was a positive but not statistically significant relationship between music reward and positive affect scores after singing. This study documents enhanced positive affect in people with PD immediately after group singing. This has clinical implications for the use of singing as a therapeutic intervention in people with PD.
Parkinson's disease (PD) has a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL).... more Parkinson's disease (PD) has a negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Previous studies have shown that participating in group singing activities can improve quality of life in some patient populations (e.g., people with chronic mental health or neurological conditions). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of group singing on HRQoL for people diagnosed with PD. Eleven participants (mean age 70.6 years) with a formal diagnosis of PD between Hoehn and Yahr Stages I-III were recruited from a community singing group for people with PD, their family and their carers. Participants' perceptions of the effect of group singing on their quality of life were captured in a semistructured interview. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative methodology, informed data collection and analysis. The IPA analysis revealed 6 categories that characterized the effects of group singing: physical, mood, cognitive functioning, social connectedness, "flow-on" effects, and sense-of-self. All participants reported positive effects across at least 4 of these categories. Three participants reported a negative effect in 1 category (physical, mood, or sense-of-self). The results suggest that group singing improved HRQoL with all participants reporting positive effects regardless of PD stage or symptom severity. Weekly engagement in group singing resulted in multiple benefits for the participants and counteracted some of the negative effects of PD. These findings suggest that group singing "gives back" some of what PD "takes away." (PsycINFO Database Record
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