Music in the acute preoperative nursing care - A mixed-method pilot study.
Lisa Antonsen, Karin Brochstedt Dieperink, Christina Østervang
PMID 36560908WHAT IT FOUND
30 adults waiting for acute abdominal surgery reported less pain and more relaxation and well-being after 30 minutes of music from a pillow.
This was a single-group pilot, so it cannot prove music works.
Key findings
01Patients reported lower pain and higher relaxation and well-being after the music session, but the unblinded before-after design cannot show the music caused this.
02Patients described the music as a break from the acute preoperative context, with calm, distraction from the hospital environment, and improved well-being.
03No side effects or adverse events were reported, but participants who were disturbed during the session experienced less enjoyment of the music.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The quantitative analysis included 30 participants, not the 40 invited; 8 declined and 2 dropped out when surgery began before the session ended. Only adults waiting for acute abdominal surgery were included, so it may not apply to other emergency patients. The study assessed the same patients before and after the music session, so it cannot separate the music from the time spent lying in bed, the researcher's presence, or the participants' expectations. Participants were not blinded, and the analysis did not adjust for pain medication; three participants had morphine and one participant had paracetamol around the session. Disturbances in the busy emergency department reduced the experience for some participants, and one participant was disturbed for 23 of the 30 minutes. The session length was set from three initial test cases. One researcher collected all data, which the authors state could be considered a bias.
Declared interests
The authors reported no specific funding and no financial or other conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the after-session improvement as proof that music causes less pain. The paper describes a single group assessed before and after, participants were not blinded, and pain medication and disturbances were not controlled.