音樂治療於臺灣老人之應用

The Application of Music Therapy on Taiwanese Elderly

我國至2009年8月底，老年人占總人口數10.55%，隨著老年族群的逐年增加，老人健康照護已成為社會關注的重要議題。而音樂治療為一簡單、經濟且有效的醫療輔助照護措施，可使健康高齡者的生活，保持樂趣與活力；對患有疾病之長者，則可促進健康、舒緩壓力、減輕疼痛、表達感情、增強記憶、改善溝通、促進身體康復，進而減輕照顧者的壓力與負擔，不但有益於提升照護水準，更可提升長者的生活品質。本文針對音樂治療的定義、歷史的發展，以及對於生理、心理、社會與靈性等方面影響的原理做闡述，並彙整國內音樂治療於老人應用之相關研究，說明音樂治療實施原則及重點，以期使音樂治療更廣泛的應用在高齡族群中。The number of elderly population reached 10.55% of total population at the end of August 2009 in Taiwan. With the gradual increase in the elderly, health care of elderly becomes an important issue. Music therapy is a simple and economic intervention. It enhances not only physical health but also psychosocial well-being. The major function of music therapy includes releasing stress, alleviating pain, expressing feelings, enhancing memory, improving communication and promoting physical rehabilitation. It is beneficial not only to improve the health care, but also to enhance the quality of life for the elderly. The purpose of this article elaborated the definition of music therapy, history of its development, and principles of the physical, psychological, social and spiritual implications. We reviewed and integrated the previous studies of music therapy in the elderly. With a view to broaden the application of the music therapy in the elderly population, we illustrated the priorities and principles of the implementation of music therapy.