Effects of Music Therapy on Pain and Depression in Terminal Cancer Patients

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of music therapy on pain, depression in terminally-ill patients. Methods: The subjects for this study were collected from 44 patients who were admitted in F hospital, located in D city from July 1 to July 31 in 2008. The subjects were divided into two groups: 23 experimental group members and 21 control members. While the control group was not received any additional intervention, the experimental group was received music therapy intervention. Data analysis were performed by the chi-square test, t-test and ANCOVA with SPSS/WIN 12.0 Program. Results: The 1st hypothesis is, “the experimental group who received music therapy would have less pain score than the control group who did not receive music therapy”, was rejected (F=2.33, p=.14). The 2nd hypothesis is, “the experimental group who received music therapy would have less depression score than the control group who did not receive music therapy”, was supported (F=11.616, p=.001). These results demonstrated that music therapy to terminally patients was an effective method in decreasing depression. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, Music therapy can be utilized as an effective nursing intervention for the terminally ill.