Music as a lifeline: Reducing social isolation and loneliness through music

This body of research demonstrates how music can reduce social isolation and loneliness across diverse communities, including older adults, people living with chronic illness, and family carers. Moss and her team have developed evidence-based programmes for group and online music making, creating accessible and inclusive pathways to social connection for individuals facing significant barriers to participation. Their work shows how music therapy supports communication, emotional expression, and shared identity, particularly where illness or cognitive decline limit other forms of engagement. This research has strengthened understanding among healthcare and community organisations of music’s role in addressing loneliness and enhancing wellbeing, informing policy, professional practice, and inclusive approaches to community health.

Beneficiaries

People at risk of isolation (e.g. older adults and those living with chronic illness); people with dementia and their family carers; students on MA and PhD music therapy programmes; and the wider public through education on music’s role in reducing loneliness.

Details of staff conducting the underpinning research 

• Professor Hilary Moss – Associate Professor of Music Therapy, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (IWAMD) and Health Research Institute, University of Limerick (UL)
• Dr Lisa Kelly – Postdoctoral Researcher, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick (IWAMD) and Director of Anam Music Therapy
• Dr Katie Fitzpatrick – Postdoctoral Researcher, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick (IWAMD) and Senior Music Therapist, HSE MidWest
• Dr James Burns – Postdoctoral Researcher, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance (IWAMD) and Senior Music Therapist, National Rehabilitation Hospital, Dublin

Description of the impact

This programme of research establishes music therapy as a vital and effective response to social isolation and loneliness among populations for whom conventional health and social supports are often inaccessible. Focusing on older adults, people living with chronic illness, family carers and individuals affected by cognitive impairment, this work demonstrates that music therapy can reach people experiencing isolation due to ageing, illness, geographical barriers and limited mobility.

In Ireland, it represents the most sustained examination of music therapy’s role in addressing loneliness across such diverse communities, setting a benchmark for policy, practice and service development. As a result, individuals with limited or no access to group activity, particularly those living in rural areas or managing long-term health conditions, were able to engage in structured music therapy and experience meaningful social connection.

As part of her PhD research, Dr Lisa Kelly led telehealth music therapy projects with adults living with dementia and their family carers, supported by a team of Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) contributors. This work addressed a critical service gap for families unable to access in-person supports due to distance, caregiving responsibilities or disease progression. Dr Kelly developed an advisory visual map designed to guide music professionals in selecting appropriate musical interventions for people with dementia. The resource supports assessment and tailored interventions and is now used as an educational tool within the field, extending the impact of the research beyond the original project. 

Telehealth sessions provided regular social contact and creative engagement for individuals unable to travel, with participants reporting improved mood, reduced isolation and strengthened family connection.  This work provided early and compelling evidence that online group music therapy is not only feasible but effective, demonstrating its potential as a scalable model for reaching highly isolated households.

Professor Hilary Moss facilitated a weekly telehealth music-based support group for family carers over two years, in collaboration with Family Carers Ireland. Approximately 30 participants benefitted from weekly sessions accessed from their own homes, addressing emotional burden, stress and isolation associated with long-term caring roles. In parallel, collaboration with physiotherapy and dance colleagues led to the development of Movement and Music community groups, enabling frail older adults to engage in essential movement while reducing social isolation.

Dr Katie Fitzpatrick led a programme of music therapy for people living with chronic pain, a population often affected by isolation due to barriers to employment and limited access to community-based social supports. Since its inception in 2018, this programme has provided in-person and telehealth music therapy in collaboration with Chronic Pain Ireland and the Croom Hospital Pain Management Unit, positioning music therapy within a multidisciplinary pain management context and supporting many clients in addressing pain-related isolation.

Dr James Burns research focuses on music therapy for children with acquired communication impairments, for whom social isolation can be profound. The work has resulted in at least twenty children benefitting from evidence-based treatment, supporting social connection where other therapeutic approaches may be limited.

Evidence of impact

Research Impact Podcast (2025) Music Therapy: Hitting the Right Note in Improving Health and Wellbeing

Podcast episode released following receipt of the President’s Award for Research Excellence and Impact, University of Limerick. 

LISTEN - Research Impact Podcast (2025) Music Therapy: Hitting the Right Note in Improving Health and Wellbeing

Research Impact Film (2021) Singing for Health and Wellbeing

Short film showcasing research on music therapy and singing for people living with chronic pain and other health conditions. Featured as an example of community-engaged research at University of Limerick. Based on Moss et al. (2021) and Fitzpatrick, Harmon & Moss (2019). Created in collaboration with UL Engage. 

WATCH - Singing for Health and Wellbeing

Podcast (2024). Music and Movement for Health and Wellbeing of Older Adults 

Podcast exploring the impact of music and movement programmes for older adults, with accompanying participant testimonials.

LISTEN - Music and Movement for Health and Wellbeing of Older Adults

Colm Ó Mongáin Show, RTE 1 (2023, December 28). Music Therapy - First Fortnight Mental Health Art & Culture Festival

Interview with Hilary Moss discussing music therapy research and impact. 

LISTEN - Colm Ó Mongáin Show, RTE Radio 1 (2023, December 28). Music Therapy - First Fortnight Mental Health Art & Culture Festival 

Moss, H. (2023, April 12). Interview with Liz Nolan on the Healing Power of Music

Broadcast on RTÉ Culture.

Available at: https://www.rte.ie/culture/2023/0405/1375417-world-music-therapy-week-liz-nolan-on-the-healing-power-of-music/

O’Shea, P., Fitzpatrick, K., & Moss, H. (2023). From cacophony to calm: Music therapy from the perspective of a person living with chronic pain. Music and Medicine, 15(2), 90–99

This paper focuses on the perspective of a person living with chronic pain, and her experience of music therapy while being involved in music therapy research. 

Available at: https://mmd.iammonline.com/index.php/musmed/article/view/922

Research description

Loneliness is increasingly recognised as a significant public health issue. It affects people at all stages of life and is associated with a wide range of adverse health outcomes, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease, impaired immunity, cognitive decline, depression and anxiety. Loneliness therefore carries measurable health consequences that extend well beyond emotional discomfort (https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01411-3). 

Against this backdrop of growing concern about social isolation, music has emerged as a powerful route to connection, bringing people together in ways that are accessible, meaningful and sustainable.

Music has emerged as an accessible and effective route to communication for those affected by illness. Musical exchanges often create brief but meaningful moments of recognition, allowing relatives to connect when spoken language is no longer available (https://doi.org/10.1177/10298649251319403).

Similar patterns appear among children recovering from brain injury, where musical interaction can provide an early route back to shared engagement (https://doi.org/10.56883/aijmt.2024.37). Across these contexts, music consistently offers a means of connection when other channels have narrowed. 

Researchers at University of Limerick, led by Moss, have explored these themes across diverse settings. This work has examined music-making with older adults at risk of isolation (Together in song), choirs for people with chronic lung conditions (A community created through group singing), online groups for individuals managing chronic pain (https://doi.org/10.47513/mmd.v15i2.921), and telehealth music therapy for people with dementia and their carers (https://doi.org/10.1080/08098131.2023.2289188). Across these varied settings, a consistent finding has emerged: group music-making fosters belonging, improves mood, and supports meaningful social connection when other forms of engagement feel out of reach.

Music will not solve loneliness on its own. However, as part of a wider response, it offers a powerful, inclusive and sustainable way for people to participate, connect with others and experience a sense of shared presence at times when connection is most needed.

Research outputs

• Kelly, K., Corcoran, C., Paley, G., Paley, N., Quaid, K., Quaid, H., Rochford-Brennan, H., Geoghegan, C., Richardson, I., Moss, H. (2025). “We will tell everyone!” Capturing the impact of public and patient involvement in music therapy and dementia research through songwriting. Dementia, 24(8), 1600-1614. https://doi.org/10.1177/14713012251333839
   
• Kelly, L., Kenny, N., McGlynn, C., Richardson, I., & Moss, H. (2024). Exploring the experiences of a person with dementia and their spouse who attended a telehealth music therapy programme: Two case examples from Ireland. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 33(4), 281–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/08098131.2023.2289188
   
• Moss, H., Lee, S., Clifford, A. M., Ní Bhriain, O., & O’Neill, D. (2021). Together in song: Designing a singing for health group intervention for older people living in the community. Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 31(5), 413–430. https://doi.org/10.1080/08098131.2021.2004613
   
• Burns, J., Keaveney, C., Nieto, N., O’Connor, R., & Moss, H. (2025). Collaborative music therapy and speech-language pathology for paediatric acquired communication impairments: A phenomenological international perspective. Music Therapy Perspectives, 43(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/mtp/miae026
   
• Clifford, A. M., O’Malley, N., Byrne, S., Cheung, P.-S., Louw, Q., Glynn, L., Moss, H., O’Neill, D., … [et al.] (2024). Findings from a pragmatic cluster-randomised feasibility trial of a music and dance programme for community-dwelling older adults. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 122, 105371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2024.105371
   
• Kelly, L., Togher, K., Connolly, R., Killeen, B., Richardson, I., & Moss, H, (2023). Exploring the potential benefits of an online music-based meditation programme for family carers with dementia Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy. https://doi.org/10.56883/aijmt.2024.44

Research grants

External Research Grants as Co-Investigator or Academic Collaborator 2018 - 24

Funding as principal applicant 2017 – 2025