TY - JOUR
T1 - 'Stroke a Chord': the effect of singing in a community choir on mood and social engagement for people living with aphasia following a stroke
AU - Tamplin, Jeanette
AU - Baker, Felicity
AU - Jones, Bronwen
AU - Way, Anneliis
AU - Lee, Stuart James
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Communication deficits resulting from aphasia can negatively impact stroke survivors relationships and social participation. Despite their difficulties, singing is accessible and enjoyable for many people with aphasia. OBJECTIVES: To explore the effects of group singing for people with aphasia. METHODS: A community choir was established and facilitated by a neurologic music therapist. Mood (General Health Questionnaire-12; Visual Analogue Mood Scale), communication, cognition and global functioning (Stroke Impact Scale-3) and social functioning (Sense of Belonging Instrument) were measured before, and at 12-weeks and 20-weeks after joining the choir. Three choir members and five caregivers also completed semi-structured interviews about their experience of the choir. RESULTS: Baselines measures were collected for 13 participants with aphasia. Prior to joining the choir, participants had higher levels of negative mood symptoms and poorer subjective sense of belonging compared to Australian general population samples. Results from the GHQ-12 suggested a trend towards reduction of psychological distress after participating in the choir. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed five common themes: increased confidence, peer support, enhanced mood, increased motivation, and changes to communication. CONCLUSION: The strength of findings was limited by the number of participants and lack of a control group, however clear benefits of choir participation were demonstrated. Preliminary findings were encouraging and warrant further rigorous investigation.
AB - Communication deficits resulting from aphasia can negatively impact stroke survivors relationships and social participation. Despite their difficulties, singing is accessible and enjoyable for many people with aphasia. OBJECTIVES: To explore the effects of group singing for people with aphasia. METHODS: A community choir was established and facilitated by a neurologic music therapist. Mood (General Health Questionnaire-12; Visual Analogue Mood Scale), communication, cognition and global functioning (Stroke Impact Scale-3) and social functioning (Sense of Belonging Instrument) were measured before, and at 12-weeks and 20-weeks after joining the choir. Three choir members and five caregivers also completed semi-structured interviews about their experience of the choir. RESULTS: Baselines measures were collected for 13 participants with aphasia. Prior to joining the choir, participants had higher levels of negative mood symptoms and poorer subjective sense of belonging compared to Australian general population samples. Results from the GHQ-12 suggested a trend towards reduction of psychological distress after participating in the choir. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed five common themes: increased confidence, peer support, enhanced mood, increased motivation, and changes to communication. CONCLUSION: The strength of findings was limited by the number of participants and lack of a control group, however clear benefits of choir participation were demonstrated. Preliminary findings were encouraging and warrant further rigorous investigation.
UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23867418
U2 - 10.3233/NRE-130916
DO - 10.3233/NRE-130916
M3 - Article
SN - 1053-8135
VL - 32
SP - 929
EP - 941
JO - NeuroRehabilitation
JF - NeuroRehabilitation
IS - 4
ER -