The Effect of Music on Pain Relief and Relaxation of the Terminally Ill

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of music on terminally ill patients' perceived degree of pain relief, physical comfort, relaxation, and contentment. The subjects were white, English- and French-speaking terminally ill patients; four males and five females participated in the study. The four dependent variables were self-recorded by the subjects on a modified Scott-Huskisson graphic rating scale under three conditions: (a) no intervention, (b) background sound, and (c) music. The order of condition presentation was ABACA for five subjects and ACABA for the remaining four subjects. Each condition was presented for 15 minutes, twice daily for 2 days. A Friedman Two-Way Analysis of Variance indicated no significant difference in the dependent variables under the experimental conditions; contentment score differences, however, approached significance (p < .069). A Kruskal-Wallis One-Way Analysis of Variance indicated no significant difference according to severity of illness; however, graphic analysis of individual responses indicated that music may have been effective.