Music Interventions for Dementia and Depression in ELderly care (MIDDEL): International cluster-randomised trial

Many older adults living in residential care homes suffer from dementia and depression. MIDDEL aims to determine if music interventions can help. Specifically, this trial will provide robust and generalisable results concerning the comparative effects of group music therapy (GMT), recreational choir singing (RCS), their combination, or standard care, in older adults with dementia and depression, on depressive symptoms and other key outcomes. With 1000 residents in 100 care home units across Europe and Australia, this trial will also be able to answer questions on personalisation ("What works best for whom?") and mechanisms ("How does it work?"). Representatives of users (patients, relatives, care homes) are actively involved in all stages of MIDDEL, from developing the research questions to disseminating its results. Findings will therefore be directly applicable to clinical practice and will improve the lives of people living with dementia, their caregivers, and practitioners working with them.