Association Between Music Therapy Techniques and Patient-Reported Moderate to Severe Fatigue in Hospitalized Adults With Cancer.

TitleAssociation Between Music Therapy Techniques and Patient-Reported Moderate to Severe Fatigue in Hospitalized Adults With Cancer.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsAtkinson TM, Liou KT, Borten MA, Li QS, Popkin K, Webb A, DeRito J, Lynch KA, Mao JJ
JournalJCO Oncol Pract
Volume16
Issue12
Paginatione1553-e1557
Date Published2020 Dec
ISSN2688-1535
Abstract

PURPOSE: Cancer-related fatigue is a prevalent, debilitating symptom that contributes to increased health care utilization among hospitalized patients. Music therapy is a nonpharmacological intervention that uses active (eg, singing, selecting songs) and passive (eg, listening) techniques. Preliminary evidence from small trials suggests a potential benefit for cancer-related fatigue in the inpatient setting; however, it remains unclear which techniques are most effective.

METHODS: A cross-sectional mixed-methods study was performed to compare cancer-related fatigue before and after active or passive music therapy. Cancer-related fatigue was captured via the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale fatigue item. Patients were asked to provide postsession free-text comments.

RESULTS: A total of 436 patients (mean [standard deviation] age, 62.2 [13.4] years; n = 284 [65.1%] women; n = 294 [67.4%] white; active music therapy n = 360 [82.6%]; passive music therapy n = 76 [17.4%]) with a range of primary malignancies participated. Active music therapy was associated with a 0.88-point greater reduction in cancer-related fatigue (95% CI, 0.26 to 1.51; = .006; Cohen's D, 0.52) at postsession as compared with passive music therapy when restricting the analysis to patients who rated their baseline cancer-related fatigue as moderate to severe (ie, ≥ 4; n = 236 [54.1%]). Free-text responses confirmed higher frequencies of words describing positive affect/emotion among active music therapy participants.

CONCLUSIONS: In a large sample of inpatient adults with diverse cancer disease types, active music therapy was associated with greater reduction in cancer-related fatigue and increased reporting of positive affect/emotions compared with passive music therapy. Additional research is warranted to determine the specific efficacy and underlying mechanisms of music therapy on cancer-related fatigue.

DOI10.1200/OP.20.00096
Alternate JournalJCO Oncol Pract
PubMed ID32639926
PubMed Central IDPMC7735038
Grant ListP30 CA008748 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States