Comparison of Live and Virtual Music-based Interventions in Mitigating Stress

May 12, 2026 updated by: University of Pennsylvania

Comparison of Live and Virtual Music-based Interventions in Mitigating Stress: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this study is to learn if virtual music therapy with active engagement components leads to the same benefits as traditional live music therapy in mitigating stress in older adults. This study aims to compare live and virtual music interventions among older adults with cognitive impairment living in assisted living facilities.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
32

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Berwyn, Pennsylvania, United States, 19312
        • Conestoga High School

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Lives in included assisted living facility
  • 65 years or older
  • Able to provide informed consent
  • Able to hear music
  • Able to see a computer screen
  • Able to speak

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Does not live in included assisted living facility
  • Younger than 65 years
  • Unable to provide informed consent
  • Unable to hear music
  • Unable to see a computer screen
  • Unable to speak

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Live music therapy
The live music intervention was presented in the activities room of each senior center and included a classical violin for the performer (a classically trained violinist with experience arranging and playing pop music), a second violin for participant engagement, and a computer speaker for digital sound output (Dell, Inc.). The live music intervention sessions included multiple active engagement components, such as music adjustment (e.g., lowering the tempo, changing to an upbeat piece) to match participants' apparent mood, verbal interaction, physical engagement (e.g., encouraging dancing, on-beat clapping), and singing along.
Behavioral: Live music therapy
The live music intervention was presented in the activities room of each senior center and included a classical violin for the performer (a classically trained violinist with experience arranging and playing pop music), a second violin for participant engagement, and a computer speaker for digital sound output (Dell, Inc.). The live music intervention sessions included multiple active engagement components, such as music adjustment (e.g., lowering the tempo, changing to an upbeat piece) to match participants' apparent mood, verbal interaction, physical engagement (e.g., encouraging dancing, on-beat clapping), and singing along.
Experimental: Virtual music therapy
The virtual intervention followed identical procedures as the live intervention and involved similar active engagement components, with the music being delivered to the same cohort via video conference (Zoom Communications, Inc.).
Behavioral: Virtual music therapy
The virtual intervention followed identical procedures as the live intervention and involved similar active engagement components, with the music being delivered to the same cohort via video conference (Zoom Communications, Inc.). In both live and virtual sessions, the performer showed identical levels of engagement and adjustment.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Heart rate (HR)
Time Frame: Baseline (15 minutes before the music intervention session) and follow-up (15 minutes after the music intervention session was completed)
Registered nurses at each assisted living facility measured and recorded each participant's heart rate (HR) using an oxygen saturation monitor (Oxiline, Inc.). The monitor was placed on each participants' finger and the heart rate was recorded for a 1-minute interval 15 minutes before and after each music-based session.
Baseline (15 minutes before the music intervention session) and follow-up (15 minutes after the music intervention session was completed)
Systolic blood pressure
Time Frame: Baseline (15 minutes before the music intervention session) and follow-up (15 minutes after the music intervention session was completed)
Systolic blood pressure was measured using a sphygmomanometer (Curaplex, Inc.) immediately after the heart rate measurement
Baseline (15 minutes before the music intervention session) and follow-up (15 minutes after the music intervention session was completed)
Self-reported stress levels
Time Frame: Baseline (15 minutes before the music intervention session) and follow-up (15 minutes after the music intervention session was completed)
The self-reported stress survey was adapted and modified from Levenstein et al. (1993), with question wording modified to reduce the reading level. The stress-assessment survey was condensed to a total of 10 questions, each rated on a 4-level Likert scale from strongly disagree (0) to strongly agree (3). To maintain consistency, the rating on 4 items indicating lack of stress was reversed, so that 0 corresponded to 3 points. The total score was calculated by adding the individual scores for each question (score range, 0 to 30, where a higher rating corresponds to greater stress).
Baseline (15 minutes before the music intervention session) and follow-up (15 minutes after the music intervention session was completed)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Pennsylvania

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Conestoga High School

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 27, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 27, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 27, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 5, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 12, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 15, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 12, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 01082025

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Informed consent to share individual participant data was not obtained.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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