The effect of music therapy on menopausal symptoms and depression: a randomized-controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: Menopausal syndrome generally includes psychological problems. Listening to music has been used to cope with changes during this period. This study was conducted to determine the effect of listening to music on the symptoms of menopause and depression levels. METHODS: This randomized-controlled study was carried out between July 2019 and December 2020. The study sample consisted of 48 postmenopausal women (21 in the music group and 27 in the control group). Music was played by the researcher to the postmenopausal women in the intervention group in a total of 18 sessions for six weeks. The data were collected using an introductory information form, Beck depression inventory (BDI), and menopause rating scale (MRS). RESULTS: The posttest MRS scores of the women in the control group were higher than those in the music group, without a statistically significant difference between the groups (P > 0.05). Comparison of the post-test BDI scores of the participants in the music and control groups revealed a significant decrease in the depression scores among the women in the music group (P = 0.036). Comparison of the pretest and posttest MRS and BDI differences between the participants showed a statistically significant decrease in the MRS total and sub-scale scores among the women in the music group after the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant decrease of posttest BDI scores of the women in the music group but not in the control group. Listening to music can help reduce depression levels and symptoms of menopause in postmenopausal women. Music could be used as a nonpharmacological therapeutic option in nursing care.

Relationship between health science students' gender-related attitudes and perception of honor.

PURPOSES: This study aimed to determine the perceptions of gender and honor of students (n = 427) in various health science faculties and the relationship between those perceptions. DESIGN AND METHODS: An introductory information form, the Gender Roles Attitude Scale (GRAS), and the Attitude Scale for Women-Related Conception of "Honor" (ASWRCH) were used as data collection tools. FINDINGS: The students' average scores on GRAS and ASWRCH were 159.7 ± 23.1 and 104.1 ± 15.5, respectively, demonstrating that students had an egalitarian attitude and perception of honor. CONCLUSIONS: Students from health science faculties, trained to provide service for healthy/sick individuals, were found to have strong egalitarian attitudes in terms of gender and perception of honor. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Raising health sciences students, with an egalitarian approach in terms of gender and honor perception will enable them to adopt an egalitarian attitude in their personal and professional lives and to become agents of change in initiating and sustaining social change.

The Effects of Listening to Music on Breast Milk Production by Mothers of Premature Newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Objective: This study was a randomized controlled experiment to determine the effects of listening to music on breast milk production in Turkish mothers with premature newborns. Methods: The study consisted of two groups of randomly selected mothers (n = 20 each) of newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of two university hospitals in Istanbul between November 2017 and November 2018. On the first day, all mothers were provided with training for milking with pumps. On the second through fourth days, mothers in the music group (MG) underwent two sessions of milking with music and a pump for 15 minutes at 11:00 and 16:00; the mothers in the control group underwent two sessions of milking without music. To evaluate stress levels, Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered and salivary cortisol tests were taken on the first and final days of the study. Results: The mean age of participants was 28.5 ± 5.3 years, the mean gestational week was 32.21 ± 2.26, and the mean birth weight of the newborns was 1748 ± 533.4 g. The state and total anxiety scores of the MG were statistically low (p < 0.05). There was no difference between the MG and control group in the amount of breast milk produced; however, the final test cortisol levels of the MG group were significantly lower compared with the pretest measurements (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Listening to music in the NICU while breastfeeding can help reduce stress levels in mothers to premature newborns and support breast milk production.