Cancer patients with sickle cell disease report reduced pain and anxiety in response to music therapy

A new study by Connor Whole Health at University Hospitals (UH) found that cancer patients and sickle cell disease (SCD) patients treated at university cancer centers experienced clinically significant pain and anxiety in response to music therapy. reported a significant decrease in Furthermore, SCD patients who received music therapy reported significantly higher pain and anxiety at baseline than those with hematological and/or oncological conditions excluding SCD. The results of this study were recently published in a journal. integrated cancer therapy, A leading journal focused on understanding the science of integrative cancer care.

In this retrospective study, conducted from January 2017 to July 2020, UH Connor Whole Health music therapists treated 1,152 patients with 4,002 music therapy sessions during 2,400 visits at UH Seidman Cancer Center. provided. This is the largest study of the real-world effectiveness of music therapy. So far within hematology and oncology. This study builds on the history of seminal music therapy research funded by the Crass Foundation, the nation’s leading foundation for funding scientific research in music therapy. efficacy of Palliative care in UH, surgery, and music therapy in sickle cell disease.

The music therapy program offered at Seidman Cancer Center provides patients and families with a unique and effective means of managing symptoms throughout the course of cancer. In particular, music therapy services are fully integrated into both inpatient and outpatient units to provide continuity of care throughout the treatment transition period. “

Seneca Block, The Lauren Rich-Fine Endowment Director of Expression Therapy, UH Connor Whole Health

UH Connor Whole Health manages the largest health system-based music therapy program in the United States. Board-certified music therapists work with providers across the system to help patients and their families manage the physical and emotional toll of illness and hospitalization. In addition, UH Connor Whole Health offers a diverse range of integrated health and medical modality products. acupuncturechiropractic, and integrative medicine consultations are centered around the patient’s overall health.

In “Clinical Implementation and Effectiveness of Music Therapy in Hematology and Oncology: The EMMPIRE Retrospective Study,” investigators examined the clinical implementation and effectiveness of music therapy at UH Seidman Cancer Center to treat pain, anxiety, and fatigue. We compared the effectiveness of music therapy for Adult patients with SCD compared with adult patients with hematologic and/or oncological conditions excluding SCD (HemOnc group).

Music therapists provided interventions such as live music listening, active music production, and songwriting to address the patient’s needs for coping, pain management, anxiety reduction, and self-expression. As part of clinical care, music therapists rated patients’ self-reported pain, anxiety, and fatigue on a scale of 0 to 10 at the beginning and end of each session and recorded the sessions on an electronic medical record.

“What is unique about this study is the ability to collect all the data in the electronic health record and extract and analyze it to understand the real-world impact of music therapy,” says music therapist and , research, and collaborators of the EMMPIRE project (Effectiveness of medical music therapy practice: an integrated study using electronic medical records) to examine the effectiveness of music therapy across the UH health system. “This study highlights the increased burden of symptoms that adults with SCD face in the hospital and how a single session of music therapy can have a significant impact on pain and anxiety.” The research was a three-year grant funded by the Kulas Foundation to Jeffery A. Dusek PhD, Research Director of UH Connor Whole Health, Block and Rodgers-Melnick.

Rodgers-Melnick was the principal investigator of the first systematic study of the use of music therapy for patients with SCD and has led several Klas Foundation-funded studies on this topic since 2014. These studies support the benefits of music therapy for the management of acute illness. Pain relief, improved self-efficacy and quality of life, and improved knowledge of sickle cell disease in adolescents and young adults transitioning from pediatric to adult care.

According to the results of a recent study, statistically significant reductions in pain (1.48 units), anxiety (2.58 units), and fatigue (0.84 units) were observed in the combined sample of patients in the SCD and HemOnc groups. , pain and anxiety above a clinically significant threshold. Music therapy sessions he differed between the two groups, and interventions such as active music production, songwriting, and song recording were more common in his SCD group than in the HemoOnc group. Additionally, in an analysis of patient comments about music therapy, patients expressed themes such as enjoyment, appreciation, mood, pain, and anxiety improvement.

“It helps me release the pressure and stress of the day,” said one patient featured in the qualitative analysis of the study. They taught me how to put my feelings into words.” Responses from patients underscore the importance of a music therapist’s expertise in addressing a patient’s needs. Rodgers-Melnick says: It can handle a long course of treatment in a cancer center. ”

“Integrative Oncology utilizes complementary therapies such as music therapy as described in this study to improve the well-being of cancer patients. We can confidently build programs that support patients with cancer as part of their strategies for managing symptoms that may be encountered with treatment and cancer,” said a board-certified medical oncologist. and Santosh Rao, MD, an integrative care provider and medical director of integrative oncology at UH Connor Whole Health.