“Music can evoke memories in people with Alzheimer’s disease, even if the disease is already well advanced,” says Dian Permatasari Suwandi, who is graduating from the Master’s Degree Programme in Public Health, MPH, and has also organised music sessions for the elderly in Kuopio.
For her Master’s thesis, she conducted a literature review on the impact of music interventions in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. "Music has measurable positive effects on cognitive function, whether it is passive listening or active, such as singing or clapping. The most impactful are the songs the patient is familiar with.”
Suwandi came to study in Kuopio from Indonesia, where she has worked both as a dentist and as a piano teacher. Her thesis project was inspired by the Arts and Health course offered by the MPH programme.
“I wanted to apply the findings of my thesis in practice and got an opportunity to carry out a musical intervention at the Tervaniitty assisted living unit of the North Savo Wellbeing Services County, where most of the residents suffer from dementia. I chose old Finnish songs familiar to the elderly and learned to play them on the piano and to sing them in Finnish.”
Suwandi says she was delighted when listeners began to recognise the songs and some of them also remembered the words. “They gave me compliments and hugs and some of them asked if I would come again the next day. It was priceless to see how such a small thing could contribute to their memory and well-being.”
The music project progressed from idea to practice with the support of several networks. “I asked Professor Jussi Kauhanen for a recommendation and Kuopio Vamos services helped me to write my CV in Finnish. Through the Talent Hub Eastern Finland mentoring group, I got in touch with the North Savo Wellbeing Services County and was able to arrange visits to the assisted living unit.”
While in Kuopio, Suwandi has also completed the OLKA volunteer training and worked as a hospital volunteer at Kuopio University Hospital. In March, she played old Finnish songs on the piano in the hospital lobby at an event where the cultural well-being activities of the North Savo Wellbeing Services County where also highlighted. According to Arts Expert Henna Hietainen from the Wellbeing Services County, Suwandi's work is an example of extremely valuable volunteer work and how culture and health care can be combined.
MPH programme Coordinator Annika Männikkö and Teaching Coordinator Mari Aalto add: “We are very proud of our student, who has excelled in her studies while also engaging in volunteer work among the elderly with memory disorders."
