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Credit: Chad McNeeley
A music therapy intervention can help adolescents and young adults (AYAs) cope with cancer and its treatment, according to research published in the journal Cancer.
The intervention consisted of writing song lyrics and producing music videos.
It helped AYA cancer patients communicate their feelings about their disease and its treatment, hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).
The program also had positive effects on patients’ social integration and family environment.
About the intervention
The therapeutic music video (TMV) intervention was designed to improve resilience in AYA cancer patients undergoing HSCT. Resilience is the process of positively adjusting to stressors.
“Adolescents and young adults who are resilient have the ability to rise above their illness, gain a sense of mastery and confidence in how they have dealt with their cancer, and demonstrate a desire to reach out and help others,” said study author Joan Haase, PhD, RN, of the Indiana University School of Nursing.
Dr Haase and her colleagues wanted to use the TMV intervention to help AYAs explore and express thoughts and emotions about their disease and treatment that might otherwise go unspoken.
The patients did this by writing song lyrics and producing videos with the help of a board-certified music therapist. As they moved through phases of the intervention—making sound recordings, collecting video images, and storyboarding—patients had opportunities to involve family, friends, and healthcare providers in their project.
Results of the study
To test the intervention, Dr Haase and her colleagues enrolled 113 cancer patients (aged 11 to 24 years) who were undergoing HSCT.
The patients were randomized to the TMV intervention group or a control group that received audiobooks. All patients completed 6 sessions over 3 weeks.
After the intervention, the TMV group reported significantly better courageous coping. And at 100 days after HSCT, the TMV group reported significantly better social integration and family environments.
Parents reported that the videos gave them insight into their children’s cancer experiences. However, parents needed help to initiate and sustain conversations about messages shared through their children’s videos.
The investigators said these findings provide evidence supporting the use of a music-based intervention delivered by a music therapist to help AYAs cope with high-risk, high-intensity cancer treatments.
“The availability of music therapy services from a board-certified music therapist in the United States has become more widespread, and, through studies like this one, we hope to see increased availability and access to this important allied health service,” said study author Sheri L. Robb, PhD, also of the Indiana University School of Nursing.
“One of our team’s next steps is to disseminate findings, train professional music therapists on this intervention, and then conduct an implementation study to examine how the intervention may change as it moves into the standard care setting and whether, in the presence of these changes, patient benefits are maintained.” 
Credit: Chad McNeeley
A music therapy intervention can help adolescents and young adults (AYAs) cope with cancer and its treatment, according to research published in the journal Cancer.
The intervention consisted of writing song lyrics and producing music videos.
It helped AYA cancer patients communicate their feelings about their disease and its treatment, hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).
The program also had positive effects on patients’ social integration and family environment.
About the intervention
The therapeutic music video (TMV) intervention was designed to improve resilience in AYA cancer patients undergoing HSCT. Resilience is the process of positively adjusting to stressors.
“Adolescents and young adults who are resilient have the ability to rise above their illness, gain a sense of mastery and confidence in how they have dealt with their cancer, and demonstrate a desire to reach out and help others,” said study author Joan Haase, PhD, RN, of the Indiana University School of Nursing.
Dr Haase and her colleagues wanted to use the TMV intervention to help AYAs explore and express thoughts and emotions about their disease and treatment that might otherwise go unspoken.
The patients did this by writing song lyrics and producing videos with the help of a board-certified music therapist. As they moved through phases of the intervention—making sound recordings, collecting video images, and storyboarding—patients had opportunities to involve family, friends, and healthcare providers in their project.
Results of the study
To test the intervention, Dr Haase and her colleagues enrolled 113 cancer patients (aged 11 to 24 years) who were undergoing HSCT.
The patients were randomized to the TMV intervention group or a control group that received audiobooks. All patients completed 6 sessions over 3 weeks.
After the intervention, the TMV group reported significantly better courageous coping. And at 100 days after HSCT, the TMV group reported significantly better social integration and family environments.
Parents reported that the videos gave them insight into their children’s cancer experiences. However, parents needed help to initiate and sustain conversations about messages shared through their children’s videos.
The investigators said these findings provide evidence supporting the use of a music-based intervention delivered by a music therapist to help AYAs cope with high-risk, high-intensity cancer treatments.
“The availability of music therapy services from a board-certified music therapist in the United States has become more widespread, and, through studies like this one, we hope to see increased availability and access to this important allied health service,” said study author Sheri L. Robb, PhD, also of the Indiana University School of Nursing.
“One of our team’s next steps is to disseminate findings, train professional music therapists on this intervention, and then conduct an implementation study to examine how the intervention may change as it moves into the standard care setting and whether, in the presence of these changes, patient benefits are maintained.”
Credit: Chad McNeeley
A music therapy intervention can help adolescents and young adults (AYAs) cope with cancer and its treatment, according to research published in the journal Cancer.
The intervention consisted of writing song lyrics and producing music videos.
It helped AYA cancer patients communicate their feelings about their disease and its treatment, hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).
The program also had positive effects on patients’ social integration and family environment.
About the intervention
The therapeutic music video (TMV) intervention was designed to improve resilience in AYA cancer patients undergoing HSCT. Resilience is the process of positively adjusting to stressors.
“Adolescents and young adults who are resilient have the ability to rise above their illness, gain a sense of mastery and confidence in how they have dealt with their cancer, and demonstrate a desire to reach out and help others,” said study author Joan Haase, PhD, RN, of the Indiana University School of Nursing.
Dr Haase and her colleagues wanted to use the TMV intervention to help AYAs explore and express thoughts and emotions about their disease and treatment that might otherwise go unspoken.
The patients did this by writing song lyrics and producing videos with the help of a board-certified music therapist. As they moved through phases of the intervention—making sound recordings, collecting video images, and storyboarding—patients had opportunities to involve family, friends, and healthcare providers in their project.
Results of the study
To test the intervention, Dr Haase and her colleagues enrolled 113 cancer patients (aged 11 to 24 years) who were undergoing HSCT.
The patients were randomized to the TMV intervention group or a control group that received audiobooks. All patients completed 6 sessions over 3 weeks.
After the intervention, the TMV group reported significantly better courageous coping. And at 100 days after HSCT, the TMV group reported significantly better social integration and family environments.
Parents reported that the videos gave them insight into their children’s cancer experiences. However, parents needed help to initiate and sustain conversations about messages shared through their children’s videos.
The investigators said these findings provide evidence supporting the use of a music-based intervention delivered by a music therapist to help AYAs cope with high-risk, high-intensity cancer treatments.
“The availability of music therapy services from a board-certified music therapist in the United States has become more widespread, and, through studies like this one, we hope to see increased availability and access to this important allied health service,” said study author Sheri L. Robb, PhD, also of the Indiana University School of Nursing.
“One of our team’s next steps is to disseminate findings, train professional music therapists on this intervention, and then conduct an implementation study to examine how the intervention may change as it moves into the standard care setting and whether, in the presence of these changes, patient benefits are maintained.”