The Use of Music as an Adjunct therapy to Pain Management in Sickle Cell Disease: A Pilot Interventon Study
The purpose of this quantitative research study was to examine the effects of music on the pain experienced in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) which is one of the most prevalent genetic disorders in the United States. The pathophysiology of the disease is related to the sickling nature of abnormal red blood cells which obstruct arterial blood flow. This in turn leads to acute, painful, ischemic episodes known as ‘crisis’, as well as, chronic pain. Recent research identifies various forms of traditional treatments used in the pain management of SCD. However, research concerning complementary alternative methods (CAM) used to treat SCD is not as comprehensive as traditional methods. Music is one type of CAM that has been used in the pain management of other types of disorders. This study addressed the following research questions: 1. What are the effects of music on the pain experienced by individuals with SCD? 2. When used as an adjunct therapy, does the use of music reduce the pain experienced in SCD? Theoretical application of how music affects pain in SCD was done using Rogers Science of Unitary Human Beings. This study was conducted over a four week period on five adult patients with SCD using a one group pretest-posttest design. Participants listened to self-selected music for a period of thirty minutes in four weekly sessions. Pain was measured on a Visual Analog Pain Scale (VAS) and participants answered a pre and post-session pain assessment questionnaire to examine the effects of music on their pain. The overall findings of this study indicate that music had a positive effect on the pain experienced by the participants in this study. There was an average decrease in pain intensity from 7.76 to 3.36 on the VAS for the five participants, with a p of .003. The effects of music on throbbing pain revealed only a marginally significant effect. Although the results of this study may not be of statistical significance due to the small sample size, the study results are of clinical importance and warrant future study with a larger sample. Music is a simple and cost effective healing modality. When used as an adjunct therapy in the pain management of SCD, it can empower individuals as direct participants in their pain management and possibly improve their health service utilization and quality of life. By gaining knowledge about the use of music for pain in SCD, nurses and other healthcare providers can contribute to better pain management for this vulnerable population.
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