One chord at a time: Ukulele program builds connection for people living with dementia

HN Summary

• Researchers at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute found that a 12-week community ukulele program helped people living with dementia build confidence, social connections and a greater sense of belonging. 

• Unlike traditional music therapy, the Uke Connect program focused on actively learning a new skill, encouraging participants to play the ukulele, build friendships and work toward a shared public performance. 

• Researchers say community-based music programs can help reduce social isolation, challenge stigma and support a better quality of life for people living with dementia.

Over 700,000 people currently live with a neurocognitive disorder or dementia in Canada. With 61% of them living in a community setting, there is a growing need for equitable, person-centred engagement and accessible community programs that challenge stigma and foster inclusion.

A new Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) study led by VCHRI researcher Dr. Lillian Hung and University of British Columbia (UBC) biomedical engineering student Jason Fu found that learning music together may help build confidence, social connection and improve quality of life of people living with dementia in the community.

The study reviewed the development and delivery of the 12-week Uke Connect, a community music program launched in partnership with UBC and Burnaby Neighbourhood House. The program provided a supportive learning environment that brought together 15 people living with dementia and three care partners for weekly Uke Connect gatherings. Participants learned how to play the ukulele, practicing simple chords, learning songs and building confidence and relationships with others.

“Music connects people. It is universal,” says Hung. “Music is not and should not be a luxury — it needs to be accessible.”

A program shaped by lived experience

The Uke Connect program welcomed participants from diverse cultural backgrounds and varying cognitive abilities, creating an environment where everyone could participate regardless of musical experience. 

Unlike many music programs designed for dementia care in long-term care homes — which often focus on listening or sing-along activities — Uke Connect emphasized active learning. Participants picked up the instrument themselves and learned in real time how to play, showing how learning a new skill can stimulate creativity, coordination and cognitive engagement while strengthening social connection.

The study was based on a co-leadership model, where researchers and people with lived experience work together to test ideas and continually refine programs based on participant feedback. Hung and Fu partnered with Mario Gregorio, a long-time patient partner who lives with dementia, to guide program priorities and decisions related to accessibility, participation and inclusion.

Gregorio challenged traditional assumptions about how research programs engage people living with dementia. 

“Mario taught us that participants were not only there to join the program. They should be actively engaged partners in the project,” says Hung.

Many participants arrived unsure whether they could learn an instrument, Hung shares. 

“People living with dementia are often hesitant to go out on their own,” she says. “This can lead to social isolation, which is a significant barrier to achieving quality of life for this population.”

But, after attending the first Uke Connect class, many participants kept returning.

Music as a pathway to belonging

Through study feedback, participants reported a shift in how they saw themselves: as active members of a community. And this extended outside of the classroom. Participants encouraged one another to attend Uke Connect each week, calling other participants, who had now become friends, with reminders and invitations.

“Having a sense of agency is powerful,” says Hung. “And not just individual agency, relational agency grown from mutual support.”

The group also worked toward a shared goal of performing together in public. At the end of the program, participants performed in a public space at Metrotown Skytrain Station, sharing their music with passersby in a celebration of connection and visibility. 

For Hung, the experience highlights the importance of expanding how dementia research defines success. 

“In traditional research, we often measure success by clinical outcomes,” she says. “But participants in the program emphasized different outcomes, which can be equally as important, especially for a group where loneliness has a significant impact on quality of life.”

“Connection, joy and belonging are clear markers that made this project so impactful.”

Hung hopes programs like Uke Connect will further inspire communities to rethink how they support people living with dementia. 

“These kinds of programs can build age-friendly and dementia-friendly communities and strengthen intergenerational engagement,” she says. “People living with dementia can still live a very good life. They can learn. They’re important members of society. They belong.”

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