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

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: Completed
• Conditions: Stress; Cognitive Impairment; Dementia
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Live music therapy; Behavioral: Virtual music therapy

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 32
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

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

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• 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

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
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

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Heart rate (HR)	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	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	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

• Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania
• Collaborators: Conestoga High School

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 27, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): September 27, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 27, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 5, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): May 12, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 15, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 12, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Comparison of virtual versus live music therapy
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders; Neurocognitive Disorders; Cognition Disorders; Cognitive Dysfunction; Dementia
• Other Study ID 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