Conducting Clinical Studies in Community Health Settings: Challenges and Opportunities for Music Therapists

Abstract

In this article, music therapy researchers and clinicians share lessons learned through engaging in collaborative research with healthcare providers in community settings. Practical aspects of conducting research in community health settings are discussed, including consulting on-site music therapists, healthcare providers, and administrators in the earliest stages of research planning; integration of research team members with community healthcare providers; and strategies for successful study implementation. We present our experiences of challenges surrounding the aspects of study implementation, such as recruitment, obtaining consent, and collecting outcome data, as well as opportunities that have resulted from our work, such as increased visibility for music therapy services, collaboration on protocol refinement, and continuing music therapy services beyond the study. Throughout the article, we refer to two research studies that illustrate the collaborative process as well as offer practical examples of challenges and problem-solving.