Music Reduces Anxiety and Pain For Biopsy Patients

Summary: Music therapy may help reduce pain and anxiety for those undergoing a biopsy for breast cancer, researchers report.

Source: University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center.

UH Seidman Cancer Center music therapists and nurse anesthetist share experience from two-year study finding music reduces anxiety, pain for biopsy patients.

A new paper published in the September 2016 issue of the AORN Journal provides insights into the impact of implementing a music therapy program for surgical patients.

The paper, written by two music therapists and a nurse anesthetist at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, is based on what they learned while conducting a two-year randomized study to learn the effect of live and recorded music on the anxiety of 207 women undergoing a biopsy for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

The authors collaborated to introduce music therapy practices into the surgical area. In the study, they randomized patients into a control group (no music), a live music group, or a recorded music group. Due to limited time before surgery, the researchers presented patients in the experimental groups with a live song performed by a music therapist at bedside or a recorded song played on an iPod through earphones.

When self-rating their anxiety using a visual scale ranging from “not at all anxious” to “highly anxious,” participants in both live and recorded-music groups experienced a significant reduction in pre-operative anxiety of 42.5 percent and 41.2 percent, respectively, when compared to the control group.

Image shows a woman olaying piano to a patient.
Music therapists at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center lowered anxiety among patients undergoing breast biopsies.NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to University Hospitals, Cleveland.

“During our two-year trial, we gained information on potential benefits, challenges and methods of facilitating a surgical music therapy program,” said lead author Jaclyn Bradley Palmer, a board-certified music therapist at UH Seidman Cancer Center. “In addition, we learned approaches to integrating the program with perioperative nursing staff members.”

Palmer said that a music therapist may be highly beneficial in the surgical setting, and music therapy may be a means of enhancing the quality of patient care in collaboration with perioperative nurses.

“As an interdisciplinary surgical staff member, the music therapist may help nurses achieve patient-related goals of anxiety reduction, pain management, effective education and satisfaction,” said Palmer. “And by having professional music therapists facilitate surgical music therapy programs, nursing workloads also may be reduced.”

She said additional research should continue to study if music therapy programs in the surgical area have a positive effect on patients.

About this music and psychology research article

Palmer’s co-authors are Deforia Lane, PhD, Director of Art and Music Therapy at UH Seidman Cancer Center and Diane Mayo, a certified nurse anesthetist at UH Cleveland Medical Center.

Source: George Stamatis – University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to University Hospitals, Cleveland.
Original Research: Abstract for “Collaborating With Music Therapists to Improve Patient Care” by Jaclyn Bradley Palmer, MM, MT-BC, Deforia Lane, PhD, MT-BC, and Diane Mayo, MSN, CRNA in AORN Journal. Published online September 2016 doi:10.1016/j.aorn.2016.06.014

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center. “Music Reduces Anxiety and Pain For Biopsy Patients.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 12 September 2016.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/music-anxiety-surgery-5022/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center. (2016, September 12). Music Reduces Anxiety and Pain For Biopsy Patients. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved September 12, 2016 from https://neurosciencenews.com/music-anxiety-surgery-5022/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center. “Music Reduces Anxiety and Pain For Biopsy Patients.” https://neurosciencenews.com/music-anxiety-surgery-5022/ (accessed September 12, 2016).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]

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Abstract

Collaborating With Music Therapists to Improve Patient Care

Collaboration between perioperative nurses and music therapists can be beneficial in providing a safe, cost-effective means of managing patients’ anxiety and pain and reducing the need for pharmacologic intervention in the perioperative setting. The use of a board-certified music therapist may help to improve patient outcomes, ease nurse workload, and serve as an adjunct therapeutic modality that is enjoyable for both patients and staff members. We conducted a two-year, randomized controlled trial to determine how to best implement a music therapy program, navigate its challenges, and collaborate with nurse colleagues to bring its benefits to surgical patients. This article offers suggestions for alliances between perioperative nursing and music therapy staff members and describes the potential of music therapists to help provide optimal patient care

“Collaborating With Music Therapists to Improve Patient Care” by Jaclyn Bradley Palmer, MM, MT-BC, Deforia Lane, PhD, MT-BC, and Diane Mayo, MSN, CRNA in AORN Journal. Published online September 2016 doi:10.1016/j.aorn.2016.06.014

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