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Occupational Therapy and Arts Therapies

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/25

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Start date: 2024Subject: search.filters.subject.Bereavement

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    Music therapy in adult hospices: a national multicentre survey
    (BMJ Publishing Group, 2025-05-07) Baroni, Mariagrazia; Tsiris, Giorgos; Marzi, Annamaria; Barbero, Nicola; Guido, Anna; Murachelli, Claudia; Marvulli, Tommaso; Nosenzo, Maria Cristina; Scamuzzi, Elena; Giordano, Filippo
    Background: In recent years, there has been an increased demand for non-pharmacological, complementary therapies and psychosocial provisions in hospices, aimed at creating spaces for communication and personalised expression in response to the bio-psycho-socio-existential needs of patients and their caregivers. As a contemporary evidence-based professional practice, music therapy is an integral part of multidisciplinary teams in many palliative care settings internationally. In Italy, however, music therapy is a developing area of practice facing certain challenges around professionalisation, funding and service development. This study seeks to explore the current state of music therapy in Italian hospices. Methods: From January 2024 to March 2024, an online survey was disseminated to 213 hospices across Italy. The survey consisted of 10 closed-ended questions. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Results: A 73.7% completion rate was achieved. Music-based interventions are provided in 49.6% of hospices (n=62), and 43.5% of these offer a music therapy service led by a qualified music therapist. Most hospices (n=17) offer music therapy sessions for 3 hours per week. Across all hospices, sessions are primarily individual and take place in patients' rooms. The presence of caregivers varies, and patients are referred to music therapy by different professionals in the team. Information was gathered regarding the use of music therapy during sedation and for bereavement support of caregivers, along with details on assessment tools used. Conclusion: This study offers an initial overview of music therapy in hospices across Italy and highlights critical questions regarding team integration, training standards, evaluation and funding.
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    Developing a best-practice agenda for music therapy research to support informal carers of terminally ill patients pre- and post-death bereavement: a world café approach
    (BioMed Central, 2024-02-07) McConnell, Tracey; Gillespie, Kathryn; Potvin, Noah; Roulston, Audrey; Kirkwood, Jenny; Thomas, Daniel; McCullagh, Angela; Roche, Lorna; O’Sullivan, Marcella; Binnie, Kate; Clements-Cortés, Amy; DiMaio, Lauren; Thompson, Zara; Tsiris, Giorgos; Radulovic, Ranka; Graham-Wisener, Lisa
    Background: Informal carers of terminally ill patients play a vital role in providing palliative care at home, which impacts on their pre- and post-death bereavement experience and presents an up to 50% greater risk for mental-health problems. However, developing and implementing effective bereavement support remains challenging. There is a need to build the evidence base for music therapy as a potentially promising bereavement support for this vulnerable population. This study aimed to co-design an international best practice agenda for research into music therapy for informal carers of patients pre- and post-death bereavement. Methods: Online half day workshop using a World Café approach; an innovative method for harnessing group intelligence within a group of international expert stakeholders (music therapy clinicians and academics with experience of music therapy with informal carers at end-of-life). Demographics, experience, key priorities and methodological challenges were gathered during a pre-workshop survey to inform workshop discussions. The online workshop involved four rounds of rotating, 25-minute, small group parallel discussions using Padlet. One final large group discussion involved a consensus building activity. All data were analysed thematically to identify patterns to inform priorities and recommendations. Results: Twenty-two consented and completed the pre-event survey (response rate 44%), from countries representing 10 different time zones. Sixteen participated in the workshop and developed the following best practice agenda. The effectiveness of music therapy in supporting informal carers across the bereavement continuum should be prioritised. This should be done using a mixed methods design to draw on the strengths of different methodological approaches to building the evidence base. It should involve service users throughout and should use a core outcome set to guide the choice of clinically important bereavement outcome measures in efficacy/effectiveness research. Conclusions: Findings should inform future pre- and post-death bereavement support research for informal caregivers of terminally ill patients. This is an important step in building the evidence base for commissioners and service providers on how to incorporate more innovative approaches in palliative care bereavement services.