Project Unmute: The Feasibility and Appropriateness of an Intergenerational Music Program Delivered by Adolescents to Older Adults With Declining Cognition

The research team will use qualitative and convergent mixed methods approaches to develop and assess the feasibility and appropriateness of an intergenerational music program for older adults with memory loss. With a paucity of research assessing the potential of an intergenerational music program delivered by adolescents to older adults, it's important to carefully build and assess the intervention utilizing principles of feasibility and appropriateness. As discussed in feasibility methodology, principle data collection methodology includes qualitative methods with stakeholders.

Aim 1: Assess feasibility of delivering a music program to older adults for the young musicians using qualitative methodology.

Initial development: Pre-interview questions will be generated by the study team based an existing digital music program, and post-interview questions will be guided by observations of facilitators' experiences delivering the program. A research team member will meet twice with a board-certified music therapist to determine bounds and flexibility for program adaptation and determine standards to include in the best- practice guide to familiarize adolescents to work with older adults with memory loss. (See: Pitfalls)

Data Collection: The PI will coordinate interview times and conduct semi-structured, in-depth interviews with the adolescent facilitators. Example questions will be "Are there any important ingredients missing from this intervention?" Do each of the intervention's ingredients have clarity when you imagine preparing a music class? What additional training do you need to present to older adults with memory loss?" The interviews will last approximately 30-45 minutes and will take place immediately after the intervention training session, as well as at the mid-point of delivering classes and following the conclusion of the final class. They will be audio- and video-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A research assistant will transcribe each interview, de- identifying any family caregiver information, in a Microsoft Word document.

Participants: Purposive sampling will be used to recruit an expert panel comprising of four adolescent musicians. The inclusion criteria will be discussed in the Eligibility Criteria section. Once identified, panelists will be contacted by a research assistant to share study details and obtain consent. Participation in the interviews and facilitating the music classes will be voluntary and musicians can withdraw from the study at any time. The PI will coordinate interviews and facilitation times with the music facilitators. The musicians will spend an estimated eight hours receiving the initial training, preparing for the classes, facilitating the classes, and taking part in the interviews. Involvement for each musician will take place over approximately two months.