EVIDENCE-INFORMED BEST PRACTICES FOR MUSIC THERAPY ACROSS THE LIFESPAN

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the effects of music therapy across three patient populations: pediatric oncology patients, laboring mothers, and older adults and to create evidence-informed best practice recommendations for music therapy for these patient populations. Music therapy is, “The clinical and evidence-informed use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program” including a variety of modes, such as listening to music, singing songs, dancing, and writing music (American Music Therapy Association, para. 1). Evidence-informed best practice recommendations will aid nurses and other healthcare workers by promoting education to nurses about interventions, such as utilizing the music channel on hospital televisions while in patient rooms, using a music note on patients’ boards to remind nurses to use music therapy, and embedding a music therapy drop-down option within the Electronic Heath Record in different areas of patient charting, such as pain management and patient environment measures. The final chapter contains a proposition for a plan of implementation using the Plan-Do-Study-Act model. Conclusively, healthcare professionals can utilize music therapy in these patient populations as a non-pharmacological, cost-effective, noninvasive, and safe intervention to lessen patient secondary symptoms, such as anxiety, pain, and stress.