ABSTRACT
Although presented as a care measure, the use of seclusion rooms (SR) is controversial for both ethical and therapeutic reasons. Given that music seems to have a positive impact on psychiatric patients, offering them the possibility of listening to music might help to improve the care dimension of SR use. This study aimed to develop, implement, and test a musical listening device that would be completely at patients' disposal, easy to use and beneficial to the quality of care provided in SRs. Over a 12-week period, interviews were conducted with nurses (N = 6) caring for patients placed in an equipped SR. The music player was user friendly, encouraged patients to make choices and decisions, helping them to regain control over themselves and their behavior, and elicited various patient-nurse interactions, thus contributing to the establishment of a caring relation. Further research is warranted to examine whether the systematic use of the music player has an impact on the subjective experience of both patients and caregivers, and on daily ward routine.
