If you love a challenge, or know someone who is ready for an adventure, look no further. Music for My Mind is happy to announce that we have places for this year’s Vitality 10K in London, which takes place on 27th May.
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We are delighted to announce that our charity has received a grant award from the National Lottery Community Fund!
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As a technology-driven charity, we are excited when we read about all the technological advancements being implemented in the health system and into care, particularly for people living with dementia. We believe that utilising existing technology pieces to improve the quality of life for people with dementia is what the future of care should be.
We’d like to share with you some notable news stories from this field.
– According to the Business Insider, the market for tech products for ageing Baby Boomers is expected to reach $20 billion by 2020. Digital technology is becoming more and more accessible to older people and no longer only aimed at benefiting younger users. Some of the technologies highlighted in the article include robot companions, smart speakers, location trackers, on-demand care service and life-like pets.
Read the full story here: https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-products-for-aging-baby-boomers-patients-with-dementia-2019-1?r=UK.
– It’s been known that reminiscence therapy has many beneficial effects for people with dementia. The ability to immerse yourself in a familiar place and relive precious memories, is exactly what Dorset-based care and support provider Tricuro offers to people with dementia, through Virtual Reality. Day Service Officer Mika Davis said: “When you’ve got a disability, particularly like dementia it closes so many doors and I don’t think people’s pasts should be one of those doors that’s closed.” This experience also allows for a closer connection and bonding between the care home staff and their residents.
For the full story: https://www.wessexfm.com/news/dorset-news/2791314/how-vr-techs-helping-dorset-dementia-patients-share-their-pasts/.
– The power of new technology has also been harnessed in research and diagnosing early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. A research at the University of California San Francisco is working with artificial intelligence to detect very subtle changes in levels of specific molecules in the brain, surpassing the time a clinical diagnosis can be made by six years. “One of the difficulties with Alzheimer’s disease is that by the time all the clinical symptoms manifest and we can make a definitive diagnosis, too many neurons have died, making it essentially irreversible,” says Jae Ho Sohn, MD, MS, a resident in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at UC San Francisco. This new method can help diagnosing Alzheimer’s early on, giving the possibility to administer treatments that can help stem the condition’s progression.
For the full story, click here: https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2018/12/412946/artificial-intelligence-can-detect-alzheimers-disease-brain-scans-six-years.
What have we achieved so far and what we plan to, looking ahead in 2019. The past year has been an inspiring and exciting one for Music for my Mind, filled with incredible support from so many people. Our journey and key milestones so far have included conducting pilot studies in care homes, assembling an influential and highly skilled group of Trustees, staff, advisors and during 2018 – gaining over 350 supporters.
We have developed important partnerships with a range of organisations and individuals who can help us, in the last year most importantly with Quantum Care – a group of care homes excited about innovation and use of technology to improve the quality of life of their residents.
Over the past year we have also been fortunate enough to expand our team and welcome a full-time Project Assistant, Dimana Georgieva. We also have the vital support and advice of many experienced consultants in strategy, fundraising, marketing and technology development.
With all these achievements, we are raring to go to dive into another year of this exciting journey. Looking ahead, our main activities in 2019 will focus on research and further technology development.
Research:We are working on our programme of feasibility studies and accompanying protocols, including consideration of appropriate levels of ethics review. Through this programme, we will explore some key operational questions such as the frequency, timing and length of use of personalised music, impact on sleep or wellbeing, etc.
Product development:Our other main are of focus throughout the year is to continue developing a tool for creating and delivering personalised playlists that can easily be used and implemented in care homes. During 2019 we aim to draw up the specification for an app to enable rapid creation of personalised playlists, using existing music delivery services (such as Spotify) and based on people’s musical and behavioural background. This involves a lot of tests and versions, to reach a product that will work best within a range of care settings.
Alongside these two main areas of activity, we will continue to raise awareness about the effects of personalised music for people living with dementia, through different campaigns and initiatives throughout the year. We will also keep our stakeholders and supporters informed of relevant news in this area and other relevant technological or therapeutic advancements.
We at Music for my Mind hope to get much closer in 2019 to our vision for every care home in Britain to have a music programme and for everyone living with dementia to benefit from personalised music as an integral part of the therapy and care they receive.
To support our app development, visit our crowdfunding page to donate.
Full-time or Part-time Clinical Research Assistant/ Associate – Dementia
Chair/Chief Executive of Music for my Mind
Music for my Mind is a new and timely charity aiming to bring personalised music playlists to people living with dementia. Although people with dementia may not be able to communicate with or recognise loved ones, amazingly they may still be able to sing along to favourite music from their teenage years. There are estimated to be 850,000 families affected by dementia in Britain, 50 million worldwide.
To date, the charity has been operating on a volunteer basis with a committed and well-connected Trustee Board. The success of our crowdfunding campaign indicates the breadth of public empathy for dementia and we have recently received Research Ethics Committee approval to proceed with our study. We have raised sufficient funds to recruit a team member for one of our highest priority positions – to seek to provide robust evidence through clinical studies that personalised music enhances the quality of life and well-being of people living with dementia, their carers, and family and that favourite music can change lives.
This post holder will work with the Founding Chairman of the Board who lives in Hertfordshire, supported by a Project co-ordinator. The Trustees are committed to building the evidence base that listening to personalised music playlists enhances well-being and quality of life for families affected by dementia. The long-term goal is to test the efficacy and cost effectiveness of this intervention for dementia in a large clinical trial.
Working closely with the Chair, you will deliver the small scale clinical studies with dementia patients in selected care homes to monitor the emotional and physiological impact of personalised music. You will compile personalised music playlists for residents living with dementia, with the help of their family members or carers. You will then test delivery methods of the playlists to residents in an attempt to improve well-being, particularly during stressful situations/ times. You will be organising and leading focus group discussions and interviews with residents, carers, and loved ones. You’ll be further involved in the analysis of subsequent data, both quantitative and qualitative, and contribute to the dissemination of findings across the wider community.
You will have a strong, demonstrable background in qualitative research as a social scientist, occupational therapist or psychologist with a strong interest and experience in musical interventions, or as a music therapist or musicologist with experience of clinical research, ideally working with older people. You will have knowledge of the concepts of clinical research and Good Clinical Practice, and have excellent communication, relationship management, and organisational skills and meticulous documentation and record keeping abilities. You will have a passion for music and an excellent understanding of and empathy with the practical needs, concerns and health of people participating in research (ideally of people living with dementia) and their families and care givers.
Music for my Mind is an important new initiative and this position creates a fabulous opportunity for someone who wants to make a massive positive impact on many people’s lives.
Location
Having a valid driving license and access to a vehicle is essential as you will be required to travel between care homes in the Hertfordshire/ Bedfordshire/ Essex area.
Remuneration
Salary to be discussed – initially a 1 year fixed term contract. Probationary period of 3 months
Hours
We will consider full time (37.5 hours per week) or part time – to be worked flexibly as required.
To apply: please send your CV to our email – contactmfmm@gmail.com or apply through Indeed.com.
*Update: this job opportunity is now expired
Head of Strategy and Development
12 months Fixed Term initially
£30,000-£35,000 depending on experience
St Albans area, Hertfordshire
Music for my Mind is a new and timely charity aiming to bring personalised music playlists to people living with dementia. Although people with dementia may not be able to communicate or recognise loved-ones, amazingly, they may still be able to sing along to favourite music from their teenage years. There are estimated to be 850,000 families affected by dementia in Britain, 50 million worldwide.
To date the charity has been operating on a volunteer basis with a committed and well-connected Trustee Board. The current crowdfunding campaign indicates the breadth of public empathy for dementia. We have raised sufficient funds to recruit for our highest priority position – to lead on strategic development and fundraising for the charity.
About the role:
This post will work with the Founding Chairman of the Board, who lives in Hertfordshire, supported by a part-time Project assistant. The Trustees are committed to building the evidence base that listening to personalised music playlists enhances well-being and quality of life for families affected by dementia. The long-term goal is to test the efficacy and cost effectiveness of this intervention for dementia in a large clinical trial.
Working closely with the Chair and board of trustees, you will provide and deliver the long-term strategic plan and budget to develop the Music for My Mind Charity. You will drive fundraising opportunities, including making grant applications, and manage donors to ensure a sustainable income to deliver the long term strategic plan.
You will work closely with Playlist for Life, Edinburgh University, and other like-minded organisations to deliver the goal of making personalised music available to everyone living with dementia.
Ideally you will have a proven track record of strategic planning and delivery, and of securing funding in a tough and complex financial climate in a senior management or strategy development role in the charity or university sector. You will have extensive experience in financial management and budget development, be a confident communicator with excellent written and verbal communication skills, and relationship management abilities.
Music for my Mind is an important new initiative and this position creates a fabulous opportunity for someone who can make a massive impact on many people’s lives.
You can read the full Job Description below. To apply, please send your CV and Cover Letter to contactmfmm@gmail.com.
Closing date: July 1st 2018
View Job on Charity Jobs: https://bit.ly/2sw9zuY
Head of Strategy and Development – Music for my Mind Charity
The Head of Strategy and Development will report to the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Music for my Mind
Working closely with the Chair and board of trustees, provide and deliver the long-term strategic plan and budget to develop the Music for My Mind Charity. Ensure appropriate standards are in place and compliance with the law and regulations.
Drive fundraising opportunities, including making grant applications, and manage donors to ensure a sustainable income to deliver the long term strategic plan
Work closely with Playlist for Life, Edinburgh University and other like-minded organisations to deliver the goal of making personalized music available to everyone living with dementia
Qualifications and Experience
Competencies
We are looking for someone who can demonstrate:
Location
Remuneration
Salary range £30-35k in the first instance – initially a 12 months fixed term contract
Hours
37.5 hours a week – can be worked flexibly from home. In practice may be longer as individual expected to attend networking and campaign events outside office hours
In October 2017, we were delighted to host Sally Magnusson and Sarah Metcalfe, of Playlist of Life, at our private event – the first phase of launching Music for my Mind.
Playlist for Life is a charity that we feel closely related to. They have also witnessed the positive effects of a personally meaningful playlist for people living with dementia. It can enhance memories and interaction, improve relationships with family and overall better their quality of life. For the past year we have been in discussions on the most efficient way to help everyone living with dementia through the use of personalised music together. We are excited about the possibilities and our future projects.
You can read their article on the connection between the two charities here: https://www.playlistforlife.org.uk/music-for-my-mind
Things are moving quickly here at Music For My Mind, we have an App Developer in place as well as an experienced individual working on the monitoring devices for responses to music.
It looks like we may also have an experienced social worker to join the team. She has been a dementia pathfinder and founded My Home Life. It’s all systems go now so that we can start making a positive difference to people living with dementia.
We have our new logo and this website to let people know what we are doing and how they can help.
We have all the paperwork and signatures sent off to register this new charity and we have been given generous donations in order to open the bank account.
Great news too that we also have some elderly volunteers who are living with dementia and their families who have come forward to help us.
On a personal note, if you have been on this ‘dementia journey’, with a loved one, or are currently on it, at whatever stage, you will understand the feeling of helplessness that this disease instills in you.
You now recognise the tell-tale signs of dementia that had been evident much earlier but you put them down to stress or eccentricity. You feel guilty that you misjudged their behaviour as uncaring or spiteful when all the time the dementia pathology was becoming established.
Music for My Mind offers the opportunity to reconnect, a chance to experience the comfort of the familiar for both of you.
If you would like to try your own experiments with personalised music with your family or group, please let us know what happens.
Tony Husband has kindly agreed to let us use his wonderful cartoons that so eloquently describe the journey the carer goes on as they witness the effects of dementia on a loved one.
These are taken from an award winning book “Take Care Son” where Tony used his own experiences with his Dad.
For anyone who has experienced dementia within the family this book will resonate and provoke happy memories and smiles as well as the sad memories and the realities of the disease.
The Daily Mail article ‘Saddest Goodbye‘ touched the public and won the Best Coverage of Issues Around Dementia (Barchester Healthcare Special Award).
If you would like to know more about our project then please click here.
