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Objectives: Music therapy has been shown to be effective for reducing anxiety and pain in people with a serious illness. Few studies have investigated the feasibility of integrating music therapy into general inpatient care of the seriously ill, including the care of diverse, multiethnic patients. This leaves a deficit in knowledge for intervention planning. This study investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of introducing music therapy for patients on 4 inpatient units in a large urban medical center. Capacitated and incapacitated patients on palliative care, transplantation, medical intensive care, and general medicine units received a single bedside session led by a music therapist.Methods: A mixed-methods, pre-post design was used to assess clinical indicators and the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. Multiple regression modeling was used to evaluate the effect of music therapy on anxiety, pain, pulse, and respiratory rate. Process evaluation data and qualitative analysis of observational data recorded by the music therapists were used to assess the feasibility of providing music therapy on the units and patients' interest, receptivity, and satisfaction.Results: Music therapy was delivered to 150 patients over a 6-month period. Controlling for gender, age, and session length, regression modeling showed that patients reported reduced anxiety post-session. Music therapy was found to be an accessible and adaptable intervention, with patients expressing high interest, receptivity, and satisfaction.Significance Of Results: This study found it feasible and effective to introduce bedside music therapy for seriously ill patients in a large urban medical center. Lessons learned and recommendations for future investigation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Music therapy has been shown to be effective for reducing anxiety and pain in people with a serious illness. Few studies have investigated the feasibility of integrating music therapy into general inpatient care of the seriously ill, including the care of diverse, multiethnic patients. This leaves a deficit in knowledge for intervention planning. This study investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of introducing music therapy for patients on 4 inpatient units in a large urban medical center. Capacitated and incapacitated patients on palliative care, transplantation, medical intensive care, and general medicine units received a single bedside session led by a music therapist., Methods: A mixed-methods, pre-post design was used to assess clinical indicators and the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. Multiple regression modeling was used to evaluate the effect of music therapy on anxiety, pain, pulse, and respiratory rate. Process evaluation data and qualitative analysis of observational data recorded by the music therapists were used to assess the feasibility of providing music therapy on the units and patients' interest, receptivity, and satisfaction., Results: Music therapy was delivered to 150 patients over a 6-month period. Controlling for gender, age, and session length, regression modeling showed that patients reported reduced anxiety post-session. Music therapy was found to be an accessible and adaptable intervention, with patients expressing high interest, receptivity, and satisfaction., Significance of Results: This study found it feasible and effective to introduce bedside music therapy for seriously ill patients in a large urban medical center. Lessons learned and recommendations for future investigation are discussed.

: Background: Grief and loss are significant issues for health care providers, who may witness their patients' pain and suffering, experience feelings of grief as a result of caring for sick and dying people, and reexperience their own past losses. Unaddressed grief can lead to many issues for providers, their patients, and the health care system as a whole., Methods: Healing Loss: A Residential Workshop for Montefiore Associates is an experiential and educational program aimed at helping professional caregivers to identify and process grief and loss. Through retrospective analysis of program participation and feedback data, this study investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of offering an intensive bereavement support program to hospital employees in a large academic health system., Results: Between 2013 and 2017, Montefiore Health System held nine Healing Loss workshops, serving 198 employees from diverse professions. These participants described multiple benefits, including being able to grieve more effectively, accessing support, and learning new tools for healing and self-care. Participants described the workshop experience as unique, cathartic, and life changing., Conclusions: The sustainability of the Healing Loss initiative during the four years of the study, together with strong feedback from participants, indicates that bereavement support for hospital employees is both feasible and beneficial.