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The purpose of the study was to test relationships among injury appraisals, coping, social support and outcomes of coping efficacy, mood states and post-traumatic stress syndrome. A purposive sample of 152 hospitalized patients a week following major trauma was recruited from two trauma centres. The measures included the modified Ways of Coping Scale; the brief Social Support Questionnaire; the brief Profile of Mood State; the Impact of Event Scale; and selected demographic and injury related variables. Data were analyzed by multivariate statistics. The results indicated that perceived controllability, satisfaction with social support, wishful-thinking coping and problem-focused coping were the significant predictors for coping efficacy; perceived stressfulness, problem-focused coping and wishful thinking explained a significant amount of variance in mood states; avoidance coping and wishful-thinking coping were predictors for post-traumatic stress syndrome. The moderating effects of emotion-focused coping at high and medium levels were identified.

Music is a useful therapeutic intervention that can improve quality of life for dying patients. Physiologic mechanisms in response to carefully chosen musical selections help to alleviate pain, anxiety, and nausea and induce sleep. Expression of feelings enhances mood. Palliative care nurses increase the effectiveness of this intervention through careful assessment of patient needs, preferences, goals of intervention, and available resources. Music, a universal language, is an important clinical adjunct that addresses individual and family needs, thereby assisting patients to achieve a peaceful death. This article explores musical categories of preferences to assist nurses, patients, and families in choosing music that meets specific therapeutic objectives.

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