• Journal of Naturopathy
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.46-56
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• 2020

Purpose: This study proposes a concert oriented music therapy (COMT) program which takes into account the personal and social factors of depression, and its clinical effects were validated on elderly persons with visual impairments who were susceptible to depression. The experiment was conducted on 34 elderly persons with visual impairments, randomly allocated to either the experimental group (n = 15) or the control group (n = 19). The COMT program was applied 20 times in total to the experimental group for 110 minutes every other week, for a duration of 10 months. The depression level was evaluated using the Korean form of the Geriatric Depression Scale (KGDS). The experimental results showed that the average KGDS score in the experimental group decreased by 4.1 points (19.4%), from 21.0 to 16.9, whereas it increased by 1.16 points (5.8%), from 19.95 to 21.11, in the control group. The reduction in the depression level was significant for the following 4 depression factors : decreased social interest (40%), negative thinking and the unhappiness feeling (20%), emotional discomfort (16.3%), and cognitive dysfunction (7.6%), whereas it was negligible in the factors of physical weakening and decreased vitality. The COMT program reduced the KGDS scores of the experimental group regardless of their experience in musical performance. In conclusion, the proposed COMT program proved to be efficacious in alleviating depression in elderly persons with visual impairments. In particular, it proved highly effective in helping with decreased social interest, namely, the social factor of depression which is not properly considered in existing music therapy methods.

• Journal of Naturopathy
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.16-23
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• 2023

Background: There is a need for index research on music therapy activities for the elderly in Korea. Purposes: This study aims to suggest application standards in music therapy by surveying the elderly's preference for music therapy activities. Methods: A survey of music-related actions and musical instrument preferences was conducted with 91 older people in 4 nursing homes. The questionnaire consisted of information about music activities, genres of songs, types of instruments, methods of movement, and purpose of participation in activities. Results: The preference for musical activities was for playing musical instruments, followed by singing, music appreciation, flowing movements, and concert-oriented activities. Music genres appeared in the order of popular songs, folk songs, and children's songs. The instrument type preferred drums, followed by shakers and woodblocks. As a movement application method, movement using themes is preferred. Participating in music activities was leisure, followed by stress relief and emotional cultivation. Conclusion: When applying music therapy to the elderly, it predicted that the treatment effect would be high when the elderly focus on playing musical instruments and singing activities preferred by the elderly. Music genres selected from popular music and folk songs, and musical instruments are drums and shakers. Therefore, if you use it, you can expect a more significant effect.