The effect of background music on stress in the operating surgeon: scoping review

Despite the ubiquitous sounds of music playing in operating theatres (OTs) around the world, the effect that music has on intraoperative clinician stress is ill-defined. In the present scoping review the aim was to map the available evidence for the effect of background music in the OT on the experience of stress in the operating surgeon.

The present review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA Protocols for Scoping Reviews. Using Embase, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane databases, peer-reviewed research studies reporting the effect of intraoperative background music on an outcome measure of clinician stress or respondent perceptions on this effect were included.

A total of 4342 studies were screened and 15 studies met the inclusion criteria, of which 10 were interventional studies, and five were observational survey-based studies. Of the 10 interventional studies, four showed reduced anxiety and mental workload scores with music, although only two demonstrated a significant improvement in a physiological outcome. The survey-based studies generally reported a positive perception among surgeons and theatre staff towards the effect of music on OT stress.

While there is generally a positive perception towards intraoperative music and surgeon stress, there are few objective physiological and psychological data to support this. Studies were varied in their design. The present review can be used to guide future experimental, observational, and mixed-method research on this topic.