The impact of music therapy in children and adolescents with cancer in a hospital setting

Abstract

Question: What is the impact of music therapy in children and adolescents with cancer in a hospital setting? Population: Children and adolescents aged between 0-18 years diagnosed with cancer. Intervention: Music therapy in an inpatient and outpatient setting. Comparison: No music therapy intervention. Outcome: The impact of music therapy in terms of reducing pain, fear, distress, anxiety and providing a coping mechanism to enhance patient quality of life (QoL). Childhood and adolescent cancer is a major life event both for the patient and the family. The role of the music therapist is to encourage the child to engage in various music-based activities, as it facilitates emotional expression, reduces distress and promotes well being. The inclusion and exclusion criteria included: studies published in the English language from 2000 onwards and a patient population aged between one and eighteen with cancer. For this review 8 selected articles consisting of 1 systematic review, 5 Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT), 1 quasi-experimental, and 1 qualitative study were used. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) tools were used for the critical appraisal of the studies. The literature suggests that music therapy can help to alleviate cancer induced anxiety, fear, distress and pain. Music therapy was also shown to be a beneficial coping mechanism. On the other hand, the effect of music therapy on QoL was not shown to be statistically significant. Although the results of the search are pointing towards the positive impact of music therapy as a potential clinical intervention, results are not conclusive and further research is necessary. Further research supported by a pilot study that would analyze the true effectivness of the intervention on a real-life scale should be carried out. It was also recommanded the importance of having conferences that address the significance of music therapy in enhancing the lives of both the child and/or adoloscent and his/her carer. Such an event would enhance the professional development of health care professionals who work with paeditric oncology patients whilst promoting the essence of music therapy from a medical perspective, which perhaps might still be in its primitive stages.