Bradt, J., Dileo, C., Grocke, D., & Magill, L. (2011). Music interventions for improving psychological and physical outcomes in cancer patients. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 8, CD006911.
DOI Link
Purpose
STUDY PURPOSE: To examine the effects of music therapy or music medicine interventions on psychological and physical outcomes in patients with cancer
STUDY TYPE: Systematic review
Search Strategy
DATABASES USED: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library 2010, Issue 10), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, LILACS, Science Citation Index, CANCERLIT, MusicTherapyWorld.net, CAIRSS, and ProQuest Digital
KEYWORDS: Music therapy, cancer, and neoplasm
INCLUSION CRITERIA:
- Randomized, controlled trials or quasi-experimental designs
- Patients diagnosed with any type of cancer
- Comparison of the music intervention with standard care alone or in combination with other treatments or placebos
EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Not specified
Literature Evaluated
TOTAL REFERENCES RETRIEVED: 773
EVALUATION METHOD AND COMMENTS ON LITERATURE USED: Study quality was assessed by the authors with a scale developed and described in this study.
Sample Characteristics
- FINAL NUMBER STUDIES INCLUDED = 36 (involving 30 clinical trials)
- TOTAL PATIENTS INCLUDED IN REVIEW = 1,891
- SAMPLE RANGE ACROSS STUDIES: 8–260 patients
Results
Psychological Effects
- Distress: Two trials examined the involvement of adolescents and children in creating music videos when undergoing stem cell transplantation. The intervention was associated with a nonsignificant lower mean distress score.
- Depression: Five trials were included in a meta-analysis. The pooled estimates did not support any effects of music interventions.
- Body image: One study of 11 women with breast cancer showed that a music intervention was more effective than a cognitive behavioral intervention in improving body image.
- Mood: Pooled estimates from three trials suggest that music interventions may improve mood. Results were inconsistent.
Physical Effects
- Pain: Seven trials compared music interventions to standard care. Five of these studies included in the meta-analysis showed a moderate effect of music on pain (standard mean difference = -0.59, 95% CI, -0.92 – -0.27, p = 0.0003).
- Respiratory rate: Two trials showed that music may reduce respiratory rate (mean difference = 2.34, 95% CI, -4.51 – -0.17, p = 0.03).
- No overall significant positive effects were seen for fatigue, physical status, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, immune function, or quality of life.
General Findings
- Seventeen studies used prerecorded music, and 13 trials involved active patient participation.
- The frequency and duration of interventions varied widely, and in studies with prerecorded music, there was little description of the music was used or selected.
- A large number of the studies had a high risk of bias in the trial methodology.
Conclusions
Music therapy may have a beneficial effect on anxiety, mood, and quality of life. No effect was seen on fatigue or general physical status. Music therapy appears to have a moderate pain-reducing effect.
Nursing Implications
The use of music therapy as adjunct therapy for pain management can be beneficial for patients with cancer-related pain. The timing of the intervention and approach used should be considered as one study showed that patients using music for procedure-related pain did not like wearing headphones as it interfered with their communication with the procedural physician and caused higher anxiety. More research to determine the relationship of frequency, duration, and type of music on outcomes is needed.
Legacy ID
5506