Lifting spirits and building community: the social, emotional and practical benefits of all-female group singing.

A mixed-methods concurrent identical design was implemented to explore the following research question: what are the emotional, social, and practical impacts of group singing for women from a regeneration area? Members of an all-female community choir based in an area of disadvantage participated in a focus group and survey. The most significant quantitative finding was an increase in the overall perceived level of health, which seemed linked to qualitative themes of 'positive emotions', 'redefining and reclaiming identity', 'choir as an extended family' and 'community interaction and impact'. Three themes arose from qualitative data: social impact, health and well-being aspects, and practical issues. Integrating qualitative and quantitative findings identified an overarching concept that 'choir participation may increase emotional and social health and well-being'. Group singing was found beneficial, with a potential to serve as a resource in cultivating resilience in individuals living in areas of disadvantage.

There is a growing body of evidence supporting the health and emotional, social, and psychological well-being benefits of group singing (Clift et al., 2008, 2010; Clift and Hancox, 2010; Reagon et al., 2016; Fancourt and Finn, 2019). This study explored the experience of group singing for a specific demographic: women from an area of disadvantage. Members of an all-female choir based in a council estate of Limerick participated in a focus group and completed a survey investigating the emotional, social and practical impacts of group singing. Gains were noted across all three categories, and participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive regarding the benefits of choir membership. There were two particularly noteworthy findings: the 'universality of singing' across various age groups and 'weariness of labels', a novel subtheme that emerged during the focus group.

Integrative review of singing and music interventions for family carers of people living with dementia.

The majority of people living with dementia are cared for by their families. Family carers play a vital role in upholding the formal care system. Caring for a family member with dementia can be fulfilling. However, this role can have a considerable negative impact on family carers' mental and physical health and quality of life. Several empirical research studies have recently been conducted that explore the potential benefits of music interventions for family carers of people living with dementia. Singing has been the primary musical medium employed. This article presents the first review of this literature to date. It investigates the impact of music interventions on the health and well-being of family carers of people living with dementia, and how they experience and perceive these interventions. Whittemore and Knafl's five-stage integrative review framework was utilized: (i) problem identification; (ii) literature search; (iii) data evaluation; (iv) data analysis and synthesis; and (v) presentation of the findings. A total of 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. Analysis and synthesis resulted in three overarching themes: impact on family carers, carer perceptions of music interventions and null quantitative findings in small studies. The review found that singing and music interventions may improve family carers' social and emotional well-being, enhance their ability to cope and care and ameliorate the caring relationship, contributing to experiences of flourishing. However, it highlighted that this area is under-researched and pointed to the need for larger, more rigorous studies.