Effects of Music Therapy on Spiritual Well-Being among Patients with Advanced Cancer in Palliative Care: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract

Purpose: Patients with advanced cancer in palliative care often experience physical and psychological symptoms that negatively impact their quality of life (QoL) and spiritual well-being. Music therapy can be used for symptom management in these patients. However, the effectiveness is uncertain. To determine the effectiveness of music therapy on spiritual well-being, QoL, pain, and psychological distress using randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Data source: A systematic search was conducted in EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Web of Science, and the ClinicalTrial.gov registry up to September 2022.

Conclusion: The meta-analysis included seven RCTs with a total of 747 advanced cancer patients. Music therapy was found to significantly improve spiritual well-being with a mean difference of 0.43 (95% CI: 0.25 to 0.61, P < .001) in the intervention group compared to the control group. However, no significant group differences were found between the intervention and control groups for QoL (SMD: 0.53, 95% CI: -0.12 to 1.13, P = .11), pain (MD: -0.81, 95% CI: -2.06 to 0.44, P = .20), and psychological distress (SMD: -0.05, 95% CI: -0.41 to 0.32, P = .81). Music therapy can effectively improve the spiritual well-being of palliative care patients. However, its beneficial effects on QoL, pain, and psychological distress were minimal.

Implications for nursing practice: Music therapy interventions can be introduced to help patients deal with spiritual/existential needs. Future studies should identify optimal characteristics of music therapy interventions to aid in enhancing the quality of palliative care for patients with advanced cancer.

Keywords: Advanced cancer; Meta-analysis; Music therapy; Palliative care; Spiritual well-being.