Impact of an Active Music Therapy Intervention on Intensive Care Patients

BACKGROUND: Nonpharmacological interventions appear to benefit many patients and do not have the side effects commonly associated with medications. Music-based experiences may benefit critical care patients. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of an active music therapy intervention on physiological parameters and self-reported pain and anxiety levels of patients in the intensive care unit. METHODS: A study was conducted using a pretest-posttest, within-subject, single-group design. The study population consisted of a convenience sample of 52 patients. Study participants received a 30-minute music therapy session consisting of either a relaxation intervention or a "song choice" intervention. The music therapist recorded the patients' vital signs before and after the intervention, and patients completed self-assessments of their pain and anxiety levels before and after the intervention. RESULTS: < .001) were found in respiratory rate (mean difference, 3.7 95% CI, 2.6-4.7 breaths per minute), heart rate (5.9 4.0-7.8 beats per minute), and self-reported pain (1.2 0.8-1.6 points) and anxiety levels (2.7 2.2-3.3 points). No significant change in oxygen saturation level was observed. Outcomes differed between the 2 intervention groups: patients receiving the relaxation intervention often fell asleep. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support active music therapy as a nonpharmacological intervention in intensive care units. This study may lay the groundwork for future research on music therapy in critical care units using larger, more diverse samples.