A non-randomized [corrected] controlled trial of the active music engagement (AME) intervention on children with cancer.

BACKGROUND: Coping theorists argue that environmental factors affect how children perceive and respond to stressful events such as cancer. However, few studies have investigated how particular interventions can change coping behaviors. The active music engagement (AME) intervention was designed to counter stressful qualities of the in-patient hospital environment by introducing three forms of environmental support. METHOD: The purpose of this multi-site randomized controlled trial was to determine the efficacy of the AME intervention on three coping-related behaviors (i.e. positive facial affect, active engagement, and initiation). Eighty-three participants, ages 4-7, were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: AME (n = 27), music listening (ML; n = 28), or audio storybooks (ASB; n = 28). Conditions were videotaped to facilitate behavioral data collection using time-sampling procedures. RESULTS: After adjusting for baseline differences, repeated measure analyses indicated that AME participants had a significantly higher frequency of coping-related behaviors compared with ML or ASB. Positive facial affect and active engagement were significantly higher during AME compared with ML and ASB (p<0.0001). Initiation was significantly higher during AME than ASB (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study supports the use of the AME intervention to encourage coping-related behaviors in hospitalized children aged 4-7 receiving cancer treatment.

Songwriting and digital video production interventions for pediatric patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation, part I: an analysis of depression and anxiety levels according to phase of treatment.

Purposes of this exploratory case study were: (1) to examine how anxiety and depression levels vary with phase of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and (2) to examine the effect of the proposed music therapy treatment protocol on anxiety and depression levels. Six pediatric BMT patients participated in the study. Three participants experienced the music condition and three participants experienced the no-music contact condition. Both conditions consisted of six, one-hour sessions that occurred over a three week period. The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) was administered at the conclusion of each session to examine changes in depression levels across each phase of treatment. The State Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) served as a pre-/post-session measure of state anxiety. Graphic analysis of scores from the CDI and STAIC indicated a consistent trend in depression and anxiety levels according to phase of treatment for all participants. Four participants (3 music; 1 no-music) experienced decreased anxiety following a majority of sessions.

Songwriting and digital video production interventions for pediatric patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation, part II: an analysis of patient-generated songs and patient perceptions regarding intervention efficacy.

Part I of this exploratory case study examined patient anxiety levels and depressive symptoms according to phase of bone marrow transplantation (BMT). The second part of this study examines more qualitative outcomes of the music therapy intervention. Purposes of this part of the study included: (1) to examine the lyrical content of patient-generated songs and (2) to compare patient perceptions regarding the effectiveness of a 6-week music condition with a no-music contact condition. Six pediatric BMT patients participated in the study. Three participants experienced the music condition and three participants experienced the no-music contact condition. Both conditions consisted of six, 1-hour sessions that occurred over a 3-week period. Content analysis of patient-generated songs revealed expression of issues related to the following themes: hope, positive coping, appreciation, mental status, control, time, bewilderment, treatment, and diagnosis. Examination of patient-generated songs provided insight into each patient's experience with transplantation and the coping strategies used during treatment. Outcomes from a poststudy questionnaire are summarized.