The Role of Music in Palliative Care: A Proposal for a Rural Based Initiative in Music Based Interventions

Overview

Current practice in larger palliative care centers offer many supportive service modalities, which are often unavailable in the rural setting. Music Therapy by experienced registered Music Therapists is an example of such a modality. The current evidence continues to grow, identifying Music Therapy's benefits to help with symptom relief as well as to improve Quality of Life in many aspects of medicine, but especially in the context of palliative care. This proposal outlines an initiative to provide music-based interventions in a rural community palliative care unit where there is limited availability to a registered Music Therapist.

Study participants in the pilot phase will include patients admitted to the Aberdeen Hospital Palliative Care Unit. Patients excluded from participating would include those unwilling to participate for any reason. All patients will be invited to complete the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire - Revised (McGill QOL-R) upon admission to the unit. The Questionnaire will not be part of the permanent medical record and the participants will remain anonymous. Afterwards participants will be asked if they would like to listen to music during their stay in the hospital. Music will be selected according to their choices from an i-Tunes playlist. Participants will be invited to listen to music at their own discretion. Prior to discharge from the hospital or after 3 days all willing patients will be again invited to complete the McGill QOL-R questionnaire. The participants will remain anonymous, but will be identified as to whether they listened or did not listen to music during their hospitalization.