Music Therapy Intervention to Reduce Caregiver Distress at End of Life: A Feasibility Study

Music therapy (MT) can relieve distressing end-of-life symptoms, but little is known regarding its effect on caregivers who are at risk for emotional distress as their loved ones approach death.

Quality of life (Linear Analogue Self-Assessment), depressive and anxiety symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression and Anxiety), and stress (Role Overload Measure) pre-MT, post-MT and at 6-month follow-up, as well as a satisfaction survey post-MT.

Single MT session for 20-45 minutes OUTCOMES: 15/20 completed MT intervention, 14 also completed pre-MT and post-MT assessments, and 9 completed assessments at all 3 timepoints. Post-MT satisfaction survey (n=14) showed 100% of caregivers were very satisfied with MT and would recommend to others, and found MT very effective for emotional support (85.7%), stress relief (78.6%), spiritual support (71.4%), general feeling of wellness (71.4%), relaxation (69.2%), and pain relief (33.3%).

Research on MT is feasible for caregivers of inpatient hospice patients.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03322228.