Parental Attitudes toward Consent for Music Intervention Studies in Preterm Infants: A Cross-Sectional Study

Sofia Bauer, Shulamit Epstein, Łucja Bieleninik, Dana Yakobson, Cochavit Elefant and Shmuel Arnon
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Sofia Bauer: Department of Neonatology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba 44281, Israel
Shulamit Epstein: School for Creative Arts Therapies, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
Łucja Bieleninik: Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Psychology, University of Gdańsk, 80-309 Gdansk, Poland
Dana Yakobson: Department of Neonatology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba 44281, Israel
Cochavit Elefant: School for Creative Arts Therapies, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel
Shmuel Arnon: Department of Neonatology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba 44281, Israel

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-11

Abstract: (1) Background: This study investigated parents’ motives for enrolling preterm infants into music therapy intervention studies during Neonatal Intensive Care hospitalization. (2) Methods: We surveyed Israeli parents of preterm infants after they consented or refused to participate in such studies. The pre-piloted questionnaires evaluated attitudes toward research and music therapy intervention studies. The study included 116 (57%) parents who agreed to participate in music therapy studies and 87 (43%) who declined. (3) Results: Infants of those who agreed to participate were younger (17 ± 2.3 vs. 28 ± 4.7 days old, p = 0.03) and sicker (Clinical Risk Index for Babies score 6.1 ± 2.7 vs. 3.68 ± 4.1, p = 0.04). More single-parent families declined to participate ( p = 0.05). Parents agreed to participate because they thought the study might help their child, would improve future care of preterm infants and increase medical knowledge (all p < 0.05). In addition, they perceived music as beneficial for brain development, thought it might improve bonding, and routinely listened to music daily. (4) Conclusions: When recruiting parents and preterm infants for music therapy intervention studies, one should highlight potential contributions to the child’s health, future children’s health and medical knowledge. Stressing music as a potential tool for brain development and augmenting bonding is important. The best time to recruit is when improvements are still anticipated.

Keywords: observational study; music therapy; parental consent; preterm infants; survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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