The Effects of Music Therapy by Self-Selected Music Listening on Terminal Cancer Patients’ Affect and Stress by Pain Level

Purpose: This study investigated the effects that music therapy by self-selected music listening has on the affect and stress relief in adult patients who have been diagnosed with terminal cancer by pain level.Methods: Participants were 20 terminally ill cancer patients who were over 18 years old and were admitted to the hospice and palliative care unit of a local hospital.At the beginning of each session, participants selected music of their choice.Each participant had a total of six 30-minute music listening sessions.Participants were grouped into two according to their self-rated perceived pain scores on the visual analogue scale and numeric rated score: 5 and above and less than 5.Each participant completed a questionnaire on their affect state before and after each session and a questionnaire on their stress level before the first session and after the last session.Further analysis was performed to compare differences between the two groups according to pain level.Results: There were significant differences in patients' affect before and after each session (P＜0.001) and stress level before and after the therapy (P=0.001).Conclusion: In this study, self-selected music listening had positive effects on terminal cancer patients' affect and stress regardless of perceived pain level.Therefore, self-selected music listening can be used as an appropriate intervention to improve affect and reduce stress in terminal cancer patients in the hospice and palliative care unit.(Korean J Hosp Palliat Care 2012;15:77-87)