Effects of music on patient anxiety - Research

AORN Journal, Feb, 2003 by Esther Mok, Kwai-Yiu Wong

Data collection for experimental group. Patients in the experimental group were taken to the OR as usual. They were given a choice of taped music to listen to through headphones. Before the music intervention, patients' demographic data, baseline assessments of blood pressure and heart rate, and the state portion of the C-STAI scores were obtained. Before patients put on the headphones to listen to their selected music, they were given a local injection of anesthesia in the area surrounding the surgical site. During the surgical procedure, three readings of patients' blood pressure and heart rate were recorded, and mean readings were obtained for calculation. In addition, the music selected, the amount of local anesthesia given, and the duration of the procedure were recorded.

Immediately after the surgical procedure, patients were asked to rate items on the state portion of the C-STAI retrospectively, including what they thought about their emotional state during the surgical procedure. Patients also were asked to comment on their impressions during the surgical procedure by completing an evaluation questionnaire.

Data collection for control group. Patients in the control group were not offered taped music. Their vital signs were taken before and after surgery. These patients also completed the state portion of the C-STAI before and immediately after the procedure, but they were not required to fill out the evaluation questionnaire.

RESULTS

The demographic characteristics of both the experimental and control groups were tabulated. The groups were compared to determine the possibility of differences among the individual pretreatment variables, which could affect treatment outcomes. Previous surgical experience, duration of the procedure, and the amount of local anesthesia given might form confounding factors that could influence the outcome. The between-groups variation with respect to age, sex, marital status, education level, and previous surgical experiences were analyzed with a chi-square test, and there were no significant differences between the groups.

A two-sample t test for independent groups to detect any baseline differences in each of the pretest variables was performed and established a P value of < .05 as the level of significance. It revealed that there were no significant differences in anxiety level, heart rate, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure during preassessment (Table 2).

A two-sample t test for independent groups to detect differences in the identified variables during surgical procedures by immediate retrospective rating was conducted. It revealed that patients receiving music intervention had significantly lower values in all four variables than patients in the control group (Table 3).

In addition, researchers performed a t test for paired samples to compare pretest and posttest variables for both groups. It revealed that patients in the experimental group demonstrated a significant decrease from pretest to posttest in all four variables (Table 4). Patients in the control group, however, demonstrated a significant increase from pretest to posttest in anxiety level, heart rate, and diastolic blood pressure, but there was no significant change in systolic blood pressure (Table 5).