BACKGROUND: In pediatric health care, non-pharmacological interventions such as music therapy have promising potential to complement traditional medical treatment options in order to facilitate recovery and well-being. Music therapy and other music-based interventions are increasingly applied in the clinical treatment of children and adolescents in many countries world-wide. The purpose of this overview is to examine the evidence regarding the effectiveness of music therapy and other music-based interventions as applied in pediatric health care. METHODS: Surveying recent literature and summarizing findings from systematic reviews, this overview covers selected fields of application in pediatric health care (autism spectrum disorder; disability; epilepsy; mental health; neonatal care; neurorehabilitation; pain, anxiety and stress in medical procedures; pediatric oncology and palliative care) and discusses the effectiveness of music interventions in these areas. RESULTS: Findings show that there is a growing body of evidence regarding the beneficial effects of music therapy, music medicine, and other music-based interventions for children and adolescents, although more rigorous research is still needed. The highest quality of evidence for the positive effects of music therapy is available in the fields of autism spectrum disorder and neonatal care. CONCLUSIONS: Music therapy can be considered a safe and generally well-accepted intervention in pediatric health care to alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life. As an individualized intervention that is typically provided in a person-centered way, music therapy is usually easy to implement into clinical practices. However, it is important to note that to exploit the potential of music therapy in an optimal way, specialized academic and clinical training and careful selection of intervention techniques to fit the needs of the client are essential.
Cancer-related fatigue, a subjective feeling of a distinctive physical, emotional and/or cognitive tiredness, is a common phenomenon in patients with cytotoxic chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Research on cancer-related fatigue has been intensified in the last decade. The objective of this work was to give an overview of the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for cancer-related fatigue. Therefore, the databases of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, CINAHL and DAHTA were searched for systematic reviews. Two persons independently selected the reviews and assessed the methodological quality. We used the measurement tool AMSTAR to assess the methodological quality of each systematic review. The results were summarised in a qualitative synthesis. A total of 24 reviews were included in the analysis. The results show that physical activity and psycho-social support can reduce fatigue in cancer patients. Particularly, nurse-led fatigue specific interventions proved to be effective. Currently the evidence for other intervention types is weak; however there exist some promising approaches. Despite a large number of randomised clinical trials as well as systematic reviews the evidence base is still deficient in many respects. The results can be used by nurses in clinical care, counselling and education of cancer patients.
In pediatric health care, non-pharmacological interventions such as music therapy have promising potential to complement traditional medical treatment options in order to facilitate recovery and well-being. Music therapy and other music-based interventions are increasingly applied in the clinical treatment of children and adolescents in many countries world-wide. The purpose of this overview is to examine the evidence regarding the effectiveness of music therapy and other music-based interventions as applied in pediatric health care.
METHODS:
Surveying recent literature and summarizing findings from systematic reviews, this overview covers selected fields of application in pediatric health care (autism spectrum disorder; disability; epilepsy; mental health; neonatal care; neurorehabilitation; pain, anxiety and stress in medical procedures; pediatric oncology and palliative care) and discusses the effectiveness of music interventions in these areas.
RESULTS:
Findings show that there is a growing body of evidence regarding the beneficial effects of music therapy, music medicine, and other music-based interventions for children and adolescents, although more rigorous research is still needed. The highest quality of evidence for the positive effects of music therapy is available in the fields of autism spectrum disorder and neonatal care.
CONCLUSIONS:
Music therapy can be considered a safe and generally well-accepted intervention in pediatric health care to alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life. As an individualized intervention that is typically provided in a person-centered way, music therapy is usually easy to implement into clinical practices. However, it is important to note that to exploit the potential of music therapy in an optimal way, specialized academic and clinical training and careful selection of intervention techniques to fit the needs of the client are essential.
