Impact of Therapeutic Music Listening on Intensive Care Unit Patients: A Pilot Study

Stacey G Browning1, Richard Watters2, Clare Thomson-Smith3

  • 1Whitson-Hester School of Nursing, Tennessee Technological University, P.O. Box 5001, Cookeville, TN 38505, USA.

This pilot study investigated the association between patient-specific, therapeutic music listening as a nursing intervention for mechanically ventilated patients, and the proportion of time those patients were considered to have intensive care unit delirium. The pilot study used the person-centered nursing framework as its theoretic foundation. Findings from an intimate prospective cohort design encourage an expanded look at potential benefits of therapeutic music listening in large, multisite, randomized clinical trials. Research and practice implications are discussed.