A group of recent studies has investigated the effects of music therapy on a variety of patients, from young, grieving youth to terminally ill elderly.

An Australian study investigated music therapy referral trends with palliative care and found that healthcare providers commonly prescribe music therapy. Researchers analyzed music therapy referral trends from palliative care team members across nine Australian inpatient and community-based palliative care settings. In the study, 354 participants (196 female, 158 male) were referred ranging in age from four to 98 years old, and most were diagnosed with cancer (323 participants, or 91 percent). Nurses (167, or 47 percent) referred most frequently to music therapy.

Thirty-six percent, or 130 patients, were referred for symptom-based reasons, and 24.5 percent, or 87, patients were referred for support and coping.

Researchers concluded that study results suggest implications for service delivery of music therapy practice, interdisciplinary care and benchmarking of music therapy services.

In a related study, scientists evaluated and compared the effects of Orff-based music therapy, social work and wait-list control groups on behavioral problems and grief symptoms of bereaved school-aged children.

Social work and music therapy sessions were provided weekly for one hour over an eight-week period. Twenty-six participants attended three different public elementary schools, and each school was randomly assigned to one of the conditions. Pre- and post-test measures consisted of the Behavior Rating Index for Children (BRIC) and the Bereavement Group Questionnaire for Parents and Guardians (BP). The BRIC measured behavioral distress and the BP measured grief symptoms prior to and following participation in the assigned conditions.

The study found that participants in the music therapy group significantly improved in behaviors and grief symptoms, and those in the social work group experienced a significant reduction in their behavioral problems but not their grief symptoms. Participants in the wait-list control group made no significant improvements in either their grief symptoms or behavioral problems.

Researchers concluded that study results support the use of Orff-based music therapy interventions for bereaved children in a school-based grief program.

Another study from the Journal of Music Therapy explored the effect of music therapy on the spirituality of persons in an in-patient hospice unit as measured by self-reporting.

Ten participants were used as their own control in an ABAB design format. Session A consisted of about 30 minutes of music therapy, after which the patient/subject responded to a spiritual well-being questionnaire. Session B consisted of about 30 minutes of a non-music visit, after which the patient/subject responded to a spiritual well-being questionnaire.

The study found a statistically significant increase in spiritual well-being scores on music days.

And finally, a study examined the effects of music therapy on pain, also in a hospice setting. The focus of the study was to describe current trends in pain assessment in end of life care with a secondary focus on music therapy techniques commonly used to address pain for hospice patients.

Study authors conducted a survey of 72 board certified music therapists and 92 hospice and palliative nurses. The survey found that most music therapists in the hospice setting incorporate formal pain assessment into their practice; both nursing professionals and music therapists surveyed utilized multiple assessment tools to assess patient pain.

Researchers concluded that there are a variety of music therapy techniques utilized by music therapists with hospice patients to address acute and chronic pain symptoms.

Source: Natural Standard