The effect of music therapy, on stress reduction in patients with mechanical respiratory support

ABSTRACT Introduction: Mechanical ventilation often causes great discomfort and stress to patients. Feelings of shortness of breath, helplessness, uncertainty about the environment, suffering, isolation from others and fear contribute to high levels of stress. Aim: The purpose of this review was to investigate the effectiveness of music therapy in reducing stress in patients with mechanical respiratory support. Methods: The method used was to search the Greek and international literature in the PUPMED database. The selection criteria of the studies were a) randomized studies b) studies involving adult patients in mechanical ventilation c) intervention: any form of music therapy was applied d) comparison: with no use of music e) the main outcome of the studies was the assessment of stress (decrease or increase). Results: The total number of studies included in this review was five. In both of them, music therapy was effective in reducing stress. In the other two studies the results were contradictory while in one study music therapy was not effective in reducing stress. Conclusions: Although many studies present a positive picture of the use of music therapy in stress reduction there is no general acceptance of music therapy as a complementary therapy. Further research is therefore needed to assess whether or not music therapy is beneficial in reducing stress. Keywords: Music Therapy, Impact, Stress Mechanical Support.

Keywords: music therapy, impact, stress, Mechanical Support