Music therapy for end-of-life care.

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care
• Integrative Oncology
• Symptom Management

Background:

• End-of-life care often involves managing complex physical and psychosocial symptoms.
• Music therapy is increasingly explored as a complementary intervention in palliative care settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the benefits and harms of standard care plus music therapy versus standard care alone for symptom management in end-of-life care.
• To compare standard care plus music therapy with standard care plus other non-music interventions.
• To assess the relative effectiveness of different music therapy modalities (e.g., listening, improvisation).

Main Methods:

• This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review.
• Systematic review methodology will be employed to synthesize evidence.
• Inclusion criteria will focus on randomized controlled trials and quasi-randomized controlled trials.

Main Results:

• Results are pending the completion of the systematic review.
• The review will synthesize data on physical symptoms (e.g., pain, dyspnea) and psychosocial outcomes (e.g., anxiety, depression, quality of life).

Conclusions:

• The findings will inform clinical practice regarding the integration of music therapy in end-of-life care.
• Evidence on the comparative effectiveness of music therapy versus other interventions will be provided.
• This review aims to guide future research and clinical decision-making in palliative care.