The Effect of Music Therapy on Cancer Pain Management in Palliative Care Patients: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objective: This systematic review was conducted to investigate the studies which evaluate the effect of music therapy on cancer pain management in palliative care patients. Methods: The studies on cancer pain management, both in English and Turkish, whose full text versions were accessible, were systematically analyzed, the studies without full text were not included. The study was conducted by screening CINAHL EBSCOhost MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Ovi, ProQuest, Web of Science ULAKBİM National Data Bases. Keywords such as "Cancer Pain", "Cancer Pain Management", "Palliative Care" were used to access the studies. 22 research papers were accessed and 7 of them were found to be compatible with the inclusion criteria of our study. Cohrane was established as the guideline to determine levels of evidence. Results: 5 studies out of 7 that were analyzed during the systematic review were randomized controlled trial; while, one was experimental study, and the other was meta-analysis. When all the study results were analyzed, it was shown that music therapy was effective in reducing the pain. It is informed that music, which has no adverse effect, even in a 20-30 minutes long session, is effective in reducing pain according to the studies that investigate the effects of music in reducing cancer pain. Conclusion: When the effect of music therapy interventions on the physical and psychological recovery of patients who receive palliative care treatment was investigated, it was concluded that music therapy interventions are highly effective in reducing pain, and no adverse effect was found during the study.