Background and purpose Dementia is considered a public health priority due to physical, psychological, economic, and social repercussions in older adults, their families, and caregivers. To address this issue, healthcare providers can use music therapy as a complementary therapy. This manuscript was elaborated to analyze and synthesize the current evidence of the use of music therapy to improve cognition in older adults with dementia. Methods Using the Whittemore and Knafl (2005) method, databases searched were PubMed, CINAHL, Ovid, EBSCO, ProQuest, and PsycINFO, using the terms such as “Music Therapy,” “Acoustic Stimulation,” “Music,” “Cognition,” “Memory,” “Attention,” “Aged,” and “Dementia.” Studies that met the eligibility criteria were screened by title, abstract and full text. Quality of the studies were evaluated using critical appraisal tools and Cochrane “Risk of Bias” tool. Results A total of 211 articles were screened by title and abstract, but only 28 articles met the inclusion criteria and were full text screened. Of the 28 articles, only five studies were analyzed and synthesized as they focused specifically on music therapy and cognition. Three of the studies showed that active and active–passive approaches of music therapy produce significant effect on cognition in older adults with dementia. The common characteristic was the participation of music therapists or music teachers who delivered the music therapy sessions that resulted in improved cognition. Implications for practice As a safe, inexpensive intervention, it should be considered as a complementary therapy to positively impact cognition in older adults with different types of dementia and levels of severity.

中文翻译：

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音乐疗法对老年痴呆症成年人的认知改善：综合综述。

背景和目的老年痴呆症由于老年人，他们的家人和看护者的身体，心理，经济和社会影响而被认为是公共卫生的优先事项。为了解决此问题，医疗保健提供者可以将音乐疗法用作辅助疗法。该手稿经过精心设计，可以分析和综合使用音乐疗法改善老年痴呆症成年人认知度的现有证据。方法使用Whittemore and Knafl（2005）方法，使用“音乐疗法”，“声刺激”，“音乐”，“认知”等术语，搜索的数据库为PubMed，CINAHL，Ovid，EBSCO，ProQuest和PsycINFO。 “记忆”，“注意”，“老年”和“痴呆”。通过标题，摘要和全文筛选符合资格标准的研究。研究质量使用关键评估工具和Cochrane“偏见风险”工具进行评估。结果共检索了211篇文章的标题和摘要，但只有28篇符合纳入标准的文章被全文检索。在这28篇文章中，只有五项研究被分析和综合，因为它们专门针对音乐疗法和认知。其中三项研究表明，音乐疗法的主动和主动-被动方法会对老年痴呆症的成年人的认知产生重大影响。共同的特点是音乐治疗师或音乐老师的参与，他们进行了音乐治疗课程，从而提高了认知度。实践的意义作为一种安全，便宜的干预措施，