Music Therapy and Other Music-Based Interventions in Pediatric Health Care: An Overview

Abstract

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.

Music-Based Interventions in Paediatric and Adolescents Oncology Patients: A Systematic Review

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Music therapy for stress reduction: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The difference in the strength of overall effect sizes may be explained by the different way both types of interventions are offered. The active involvement of a music therapist who is specifically trained to tailor interventions to the needs of patients and their musical preferences might give a reasonable explanation for the larger effect size for music therapy compared to music interventions (Bradt & Dileo, 2014;Dileo, 1999Dileo, , 2006Magee, 2019;Magee et al, 2017;Stegemann et al, 2019). Music therapists are especially trained to deliver music therapy sessions to meet participants/patients' needs at the individual or group level (Rafieyan & Ries, 2007).…”

The effect of music therapy on pain, anxiety and depression in patients after coronary artery bypass grafting

“…Although the current treatment of postoperative pain is mainly focused on drug treatment, increasing numbers of nondrug treatment methods have also begun to be widely used [13,14]. Music therapy is an innovative nondrug treatment that can stimulate the cerebral cortex to reduce stress-related hormones and can have a positive effect on improving emotions through neuroendocrine pathways [15]. It can also have a direct impact on the brain edge and the brainstem reticular structure of the nervous system, reducing sympathetic nervous system activity and increasing parasympathetic neural activity, reducing the body's physiological response to stress and lowering the cortisol level in the patient's body, thereby stabilizing the patient's blood pressure and heart rate under stress [16].…”