Dementia Choir Oslo 24–26

Dementia Choir Oslo 24–26 is a research and development project in collaboration with Oslo Municipality. The project investigates the best ways to conduct choirs and how choir participation impacts social and mental health and quality of life.

Dementia Choir Oslo 24–26 is a collaboration between the Norwegian Academy of Music and Oslo Municipality. In this project, we are establishing five new dementia choirs and researching both the implementation and the impact of the dementia choirs on the participants.

Would you like to sing in a dementia choir?

Please fill out this contact form in Nettskjema (in Norwegian), and we will contact you.

It is entirely non-binding to get in touch.

You can also email us at demenskor@nmh.no, or contact Kristi Stedje or Kjersti Johansson.

Who can participate?

Individuals who:

Have dementia or noticeable memory problems
Live at home

There are no requirements for musical skills or previous singing experience to participate.

We also welcome participants who are relatives of choir participants with dementia. This is not a requirement. You can participate with or without a relative.

What does participation involve?

Choir rehearsals will take place once a week for a total of 10 months.
The start dates of the choirs vary.
In some choirs, relatives are invited to be active choir members; in others, only individuals with dementia/memory problems will be choir singers.
All participants will be asked to complete questionnaires before and during the project.
If possible, we will also ask a close relative to complete some questionnaires.

Would you like to contribute as a volunteer?

The volunteers' role will be to support the choir members before, during, and after the choir rehearsal, as well as assist with refreshments and social interaction during the break.

Fill out this contact form in Nettskjema (in Norwegian), and we will contact you. You can also email us at demenskor@nmh.no or contact Kristi Stedje or Kjerst Johansson.

What kind of research will be conducted?

The project is twofold. We will research:

The implementation of the dementia choirs and
The impact choir singing has on the participants.

In the implementation research, we are developing a manual or guide for starting and running dementia choirs and a training programme for those who will work with the dementia choirs, whether they are choir leaders, accompanists, or volunteers. To do this, focus group interviews are conducted with individuals with dementia, relatives, and others with relevant experience in music, choirs, and dementia.

In the second part of the project, we examine the effect of singing in a choir on participants' social and mental health. Specifically, we look at whether choir participation can positively impact loneliness, depression, sense of meaning in life, apathy, and mood. We investigate the effect on participants living with dementia and their relatives.

Participants are asked to complete questionnaires before and during the project. The study is a so-called "cross-over" study, meaning the choirs start at different times, but everyone completes the questionnaires simultaneously. This way, we can track the development of responses for the participants and compare responses from participants who have started with the choir with those who have not yet begun. This provides a better basis for determining whether the choirs have an effect or not. However, everyone is offered choir participation for 10 months, regardless of when they start.

Funding

The Oslo municipality funds the project. The Norwegian Academy of Music also provides some internal financing.