Groundbreaking report quantifies the economic benefit of improved quality of life for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers—showing a $2.40 return for every $1 invested annually.
Contact: Andrea Camp
Andrea.Camp@aspeninstitute.org
Washington, D.C., June 3, 2025 ––
The NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative today released a groundbreaking economic impact study showing that music engagement provided to individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, delivers significant quality-of-life benefits to both these individuals and their caregivers.
Measured in terms of dollars and cents, these benefits translate into a return of $2.40 for every $1 invested in music engagement. The total economic value of music engagement on improving the quality of life for individuals and their caregivers ranges from $5.1 billion to $11.9 billion annually, depending upon the extent to which music engagement is utilized.
The report, Alzheimer’s Disease & Music Engagement: Quality of Life Economic Impact Analysis, was produced by Deloitte Canada, a professional services firm providing audit, consulting, and advisory services in collaboration with the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative, a partnership between the Johns Hopkins University’s International Arts + Lab Center and the Aspen Institute’s Health, Medicine & Society Program. The work was supported through AARP and the A. Barry Rand Fund of the AARP Foundation.
“AARP wanted to understand the economic value music engagement could have for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and the impact it might have on caregivers. We knew that music stimulates brain activity, helps manage stress and enhances well-being. But this report shows the surprisingly large benefits resulting from music’s improvements to peoples’ quality of life and how that relates to health care system savings,” said Sarah Lenz Lock, SVP for Policy and Brain Health from AARP.
The Deloitte project follows another independent study, the 2021 Alzheimer’s Disease and Music Engagement Economic Impact Analysis, which showed the benefits of music engagement with the Alzheimer’s population to the overall US economy, including significant increases in GDP, tax revenue, jobs and labor income. That assessment was also commissioned by the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative and supported by AARP.
The NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative was established in 2020 to build the field of neuroarts. Neuroarts is an interdisciplinary field, rooted in the science of neuroaesthetics, which explores how the arts and aesthetic experiences change the brain, body, and behavior and how this knowledge can be applied to advance health and well-being.
“To build the field of neuroarts, we need even more than rigorous science. We also need solid economic data to demonstrate the real costs and benefits of using the arts to improve health and well-being,” said Ruth J. Katz, executive director of the Health, Medicine & Society Program at the Aspen Institute, who also co-directs the Initiative. “Along with powerful science, strong economic evidence will advance our overall mission of ensuring that the arts become part of mainstream medicine and public health.”
In contrast to the original study, the current analysis focuses on assessing the economic impacts associated with quality of life metrics for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease through music engagement and their caregivers, including activities of daily living, depression, and sleep quality, and caregiver stress as measured against the impact on health care costs for the care of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, such as hospitals stays and emergency room visits.
Deloitte Canada looked at the short-to-medium term economic impacts over the course of a year of two 30-minute sessions of music engagement every week. The results showed both improvements in the quality of life for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and their patients, and cost savings to the health care system.
“This most recent economic analysis demonstrates how music engagement reduces costs and improves outcomes for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers,” said Susan Magsamen, executive director of the Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics and co-director of the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative. “For the first time, we can assess not only the individual benefits of integrating music engagement into health care, but also the economic return—giving policymakers the data they need to make informed, cost-effective decisions.”
Magsamen continued, “Both NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative economic analyses present a clear view of the true value of using the arts to improve health and well-being.”
The full report and a link to AARP’s brief video explainer can be found on the Neuroarts Resource Center.
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About the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative
The NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative is a partnership between the Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab) Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics and the Aspen Institute’s Health, Medicine and Society (HMS) Program. Co-directed by Susan Magsamen, MAS, executive director of IAM Lab, and Ruth J. Katz, JD, MPH, executive director of the HMS Program. The Initiative bridges the gap between the arts and sciences to advance health and wellbeing by promoting innovative research, developing evidence-based practices, and raising public awareness of the arts’ potential to enhance health.
About AARP
AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence and nearly 38 million members, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation’s largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org, www.aarp.org/espanol or follow @AARP, @AARPenEspanol and @AARPadvocates, @AliadosAdelante on social media.
