| Author: | Szeto, Chui-kam |
| Title: | The effect of music on patients' preoperative anxiety |
| Degree: | M.Sc. |
| Year: | 1998 |
| Subject: | Anxiety -- Treatment Music -- Physiological effect Music therapy Music, Influence of Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | Multi-disciplinary Studies Department of Nursing and Health Sciences |
| Pages: | x, 107, [5] leaves : ill. ; 30 cm |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Preoperative anxiety is one of the common nursing diagnosis or problems for most surgical patients when they are admitted to hospital for elective surgery. Studies have identified that reducing preoperative anxiety is an important component in decreasing postoperative pain and medication use, lessening postoperative complications and enhancing a speedy recovery. Most clinical reports tend to show that music has an effect in reducing anxiety levels for preoperative patients. However, a review of the literature also suggests that this music effect has different results and that this inconsistent outcome is likely due to between-study differences in procedures, experimental techniques, and measurements of anxiety so that it makes comparisons difficult. Clinical studies often do not lend themselves to the controlled manipulation of variables, but is expected as a dominant feature of experimental examinations. Review of the clinical studies on the effects of music in the reduction of patients' preoperative anxiety reveal a lack of scientific rigor. For example, the problems of small sample size, a lack of control group, or a frequent failure to test for non-specific effects, subject variable effects, no assurance of pretest equivalence in dependent measures between groups, and not including both objective and subjective measurements on anxiety reduce the validity of the studies' conclusions. Thus, a careful controlled research design is needed to determine the effects of music in reducing patients' preoperative anxiety. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of music on patients' preoperative anxiety while awaiting for surgery in the theatre holding area with a better controlling experimental procedure. The study used a design which included two control groups, both physiological and psychological measures of anxiety were included, and matched patient samples among groups. 90 volunteer patients orthogonally matched for sex, age, systolic blood pressure, and types of surgical procedures were assigned to one of Music group, Non-Specific Control group, and Test Only Control group. Anxiety was measured by systolic, diastolic, mean arterial pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, state portion of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and subjective ratings of tension levels. Pre-post assessments and treatments were conducted among the three groups. A one-way ANOVA and paired samples t-test were used to analyze the data. Results revealed that patients in Music group showed significant reductions for all dependent measures at the pre-post treatment occasion. Patients in Non-Specific Control group showed no significant difference for all dependent measures. However, there was a slight decrease in mean scores for most dependent measures at the pre-post treatment occasion. Patients in Test Only Control group showed no significant reduction in mean scores for all dependent measures. In fact, there was a significant increase in systolic blood pressure at the pre-post treatment occasion. One-way analysis of variance also revealed there were significant differences in systolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure at the post-treatment occasion among treatment and control groups. A post hoc test of Least Significant Difference indicated Music group significantly reduced systolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure at the post-treatment occasion when compared with Test Only Control group. The present findings were consistent with previous studies that music has an effect in the reduction of patients' preoperative anxiety. Results support the hypotheses that patients who listen to music while awaiting for surgery in the theatre holding area have a lower subjective anxiety level and have a greater reduction in blood pressure, heart rate and respiration rate than patients who do not receive such intervention. However, the results also revealed the presence of some non-specific effects. Future examination should attend to such non-specific events. Using music as nursing intervention shows the benefit and effectiveness for reducing patient's preoperative anxiety. It is strongly recommended for developing a music program in the theatre holding area. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| b14422888.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 3.3 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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