Nurse Implementation of Music for Pain Relief in the Inpatient Setting

The music for pain relief study tested an innovative broad hypothesis that nurses can effectively integrate the use of music as an option for pain and anxiety management among their patients. The literature supports music for pain relief as an established best practice, and implementing music listening at the bedside supports patient-centered care and autonomous nursing practice.

Guided by the Practical, Robust Implementation, and Sustainability Model (PRISM), a multidisciplinary research team comprised of nurse researchers, a patient/family co-investigator, and implementation scientists engaged nurses to implement the protocol on four inpatient units-three adult and one pediatric-from July 2021 to December 2021. Implementation strategies included nurse champions, in-person training, a unit research binder, and Spotify music streaming accounts with pre-established playlists. Reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) using data from the electronic health record (EHR), a bedside form, and a pre-post survey of nurse motivation to implement was assessed.

EHR data showed improvement in the monthly average documented music provision from 9 sessions preintervention to 16 postintervention and 22 in the sustainment phase. Bedside forms (n = 32) revealed nurses offered recorded music to alleviate anxiety (32%), boredom (27%), pain (22%), or procedural distraction (19%). Patients averaged 78 min of music listening, most typically on provided tablets (78%). Patients selected the genre in 46% of plays. Nurse perceptions towards the intervention significantly improved with respect to having accomplished something worthwhile. Pain scores captured before and after music listening did not show statistically significant differences.

Nurses successfully integrated the evidence-based practice of offering recorded music to their patients during routine care, potentially facilitating pain and anxiety relief. The nurse's attitudes toward offering music showed they felt it was worthwhile. Implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic may have increased data collection fatigue, which limited postimplementation data collection.