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March 04, 2026
New research from the University of Kentucky shows that person-centered activities can improve the quality of life for patients living with dementia.
The study found that prioritizing joyful, engaging activities benefits dementia residents while also reducing stress for caregivers.
“Programs like pet therapy, bringing dogs and cats in, music therapy provided by a music therapist, and other programming that’s from volunteers in the community are really impactful not only for the residents but also the well-being of the care staff that are in the environment,” said Dr. Alaine Reschke-Hernandez, associate professor of music therapy at the University of Kentucky.
The activities are not only improving patients’ lives but also making caregiver lives much easier.
“Some of them in our study, they were saying, yeah, we actually stop and go and enjoy it ourselves as a way to do a little bit of self-care so that we can keep pouring out of our own cup,” Reschke-Hernandez said. “So I thought that was really, really important to keep in mind that creating this whole environment of support and care and quality of life.”
According to Reschke-Hernandez, music therapy was one of the more popular activities that resonated with the residents. She said it involves more than just listening to music.
“Music therapists toolboxes are so much vast, more vast than that,” she said. “So we have singing, movement, playing instruments, creating new music, recreating, like rewriting music, talking about the lyrics and the artists, reminiscing about times when music was connected to different events.”
The doctor also advocates for community members with talent or ideas to volunteer their time with people who live in a care facility.
“We have a lot of rural areas in Kentucky where there are care facilities that are pretty isolated and they lean heavily on volunteers and talents in their community,” Reschke-Hernandez said. “And so if you have something that you might be able to offer, you know, maybe talk it over with the activity director at a local long-term care facility and say, hey, where are you seeing needs in your day.”