Editorial: Music Therapy in Geriatrics

Frontiers in Medicine

article

Suzanne B. Hanser¹  Amy Clements-Cortes²  Melissa Mercadal-Brotons³  Concetta Maria Tomaino⁴ 

[1]Department of Music Therapy, Berklee College of Music, United States

[2]Department of Music, Wilfrid Laurier University

[3]Department of Music Education

[4]Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, United States

关键词: music;    music therapy (MT);    geriatrics;    depression;    Alzheimer's disease;    intergenerational;    caregivers;    dementia;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmed.2020.00087

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the population of people living in the world who are over 60 years of age will almost double between 2015 and 2050, going from 12% of the world’s inhabitants to 22%. WHO points out that by 2020, the number of people over 60 will be in excess of the number who are younger than 5 years old. Meanwhile, those over the age of 85 will continue to increase drastically. Projections estimate that the number of people of advanced age, beyond 80 years, will increase from 1950 to 2050 by 26% (1). These rapidly changing demographics have led to major concerns regarding the growing burden and costs to healthcare systems worldwide. Services may be required for assistance with activities of daily living for community-dwelling elders and for long-term care for those who lose their independence or require more extensive treatment. These and other challenges of advanced age emphasize the need for creative interventions that delay long-term care placement and maintain older adults in their homes and communities. Non-pharmacological remedies have obvious advantages, and are being sought to manage complex medical needs of older adults. Innovative, cost-effective approaches are required to ward off isolation and enhance wellness and wellbeing. WHO has also established dementia as a public health priority and designed a global action plan to address the problems faced by individuals with this condition as well as their caregivers. This organization estimates that there will be 82 million people with dementia by 2030 and 152 people living with this condition by 2050, and an increasing number will reside in countries where low and middle incomes are most prevalent.

【 授权许可】

CC BY