Bringing comfort
Music therapy being studied in palliative care
Two women went into palliative care.
Both came from similar backgrounds, but had very different tastes in music. One loved classical and had even composed some in her past. The other enjoyed listening to more contemporary tunes as well as Elvis and hymns.
As Dr. Anne Kwasnik told the story, she was speaking with the woman who loved classical and discovered that by mistake staff had been playing the music the other woman liked rather than the classical music she enjoyed.
Immediately staff switched the music back to the one the women preferred and instantly noticed a difference.
“She was very confused and very agitated and required a lot of sedation just to keep the agitation under control,” Kwasnik said of the woman prior to the switch. “We couldn’t get her settled.”
The night the music changed, her whole demeanour did.
“She slept all night, no meds, and was completely lucid and able to function and had a good couple days of peace before she died,” Kwasnik said. “It’s something so simple and trivial but it’s just a matter of taking the time to appreciate the difference.”
Kwasnik had the chance to research the topic of music and
its use in palliative care during a residency she undertook last year prior to taking over for Dr. Gerry Farrell as medical director for the Palliative Care Unit at the Aberdeen Hospital in May.
Music therapy, she said, is now being studied for help in a variety of health situations ranging from anxiety or PTSD to pain management, or as she examined, in palliative situations.
“I found enormous amounts of literature that resonated with me that there’s huge inroads in how music can be beneficial in pain management and distress,” she said.
The best part is that it offers potential benefits with no risk of side effects.
She hopes to take what she’s learned and apply it in her role.
As in the story she told about the woman who loved classical music, Kwasnik said it’s key to choose music the person enjoys and wants to listen to. For instance if a person is sad, you shouldn’t make them listen to happy music. Sometimes what they want – and perhaps need – is music they can relate to. In certain cases, it helps people deal with the emotion they are experiencing, and then move on.
“It really is for the person to decide and it has to be an individual thing,” she said. “You can’t force music on somebody.”
Soon the Aberdeen Hospital’s Palliative Care unit through the Aberdeen’s Palliative Care Society will be setting up an iTunes account and Bluetooth speakers that will allow patients and families to listen to whatever kind of music interests them.
While it’s not currently financially possible, she dreams of a day when the unit may be able to hire their own music therapist.
“My hope is to expand on things that will make the whole process more pleasant. It doesn’t have to be a horrible experience. It can be a very meaningful and spiritually rich and beautiful experience for families.”