Effect of Self-Chosen Music in Alleviating the Burden on Family Caregivers of Patients with Advanced Cancer: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Inmaculada Valero-Cantero, Cristina Casals (), Milagrosa Espinar-Toledo, Francisco Javier Barón-López, Francisco Javier Martínez-Valero, Nuria García-Agua Soler and María Ángeles Vázquez-Sánchez
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Inmaculada Valero-Cantero: Puerta Blanca Clinical Management Unit, Malaga-Guadalhorce Health District, 29004 Malaga, Spain
Cristina Casals: ExPhy Research Group, Department of Physical Education, University of Cadiz, Puerto Real, 11519 Cadiz, Spain
Milagrosa Espinar-Toledo: Rincon de la Victoria Clinical Management Unit, Malaga-Guadalhorce Health District, 29004 Malaga, Spain
Francisco Javier Barón-López: Department of Preventive Medicine, Public Health and Science History, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain
Francisco Javier Martínez-Valero: Midlothian Foot Care, Dalkeith and National Health Service, Dalkeith EH22 1DU, UK
Nuria García-Agua Soler: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaga, 29010 Malaga, Spain
María Ángeles Vázquez-Sánchez: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malaga, 29071 Malaga, Spain

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-10

Abstract: The experience of caregiver burden among family members of patients with advanced cancer is a common problem. The aim of this study was to determine whether the burden may be alleviated by means of a therapeutic approach based on self-chosen music. This randomised controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04052074. Registered 9 August 2019) included 82 family caregivers of patients receiving home palliative care for advanced cancer. The intervention group ( n = 41) listened to pre-recorded, self-chosen music for 30 min/day for seven consecutive days, while the control group ( n = 41) listened to a recording of basic therapeutic education at the same frequency. The degree of burden was assessed by the Caregiver Strain Index (CSI), calculated before and after the seven-day intervention. According to this measure, caregiver burden fell significantly in the intervention group (CSI change: −0.56, SD 2.16) but increased in the control group (CSI change: +0.68, SD 1.47), with a significant group x moment interaction F(1, 80) = 9.30, p = 0.003, η 2 p = 0.11. These results suggest that, in the short term at least, the use of therapy based on self-chosen music alleviates the burden on family caregivers of palliative cancer patients. Moreover, this therapy is easy to administer at home and does not present any problems in practice.

Keywords: informal caregivers; caregiving; caregiver strain index; complementary medicine; alternative medicine; music intervention; music medicine; palliative care; oncology; home care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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