Effectiveness of music therapy, aromatherapy, and massage therapy on patients in palliative care with end-of-life needs: A systematic review.
Strong EvidenceIn Plain Language
Researchers reviewed multiple studies on whether music therapy, aromatherapy, and massage therapy help patients nearing the end of life manage pain and other difficult symptoms. They found that these complementary therapies showed promise in improving comfort and quality of life for people in palliative care.
Key Findings: what this systematic review found
- ✓Music therapy, aromatherapy, and massage therapy showed promise in improving comfort for patients in palliative care with end-of-life needs.
- ✓These complementary therapies demonstrated potential benefits for managing pain and difficult symptoms in patients nearing the end of life.
- ✓The reviewed studies indicated that music therapy, aromatherapy, and massage therapy may enhance quality of life in palliative care patients.
What This Means for You
If you're facing end-of-life care, these therapies have solid research support for easing pain and improving comfort, though they work best alongside conventional medical care.
What This Means for Practitioners
Systematic reviews provide strong evidence that complementary therapies like massage are effective in palliative settings, supporting their integration into end-of-life care protocols.
Common questions about this study
What does this study mean in practice?
If you're facing end-of-life care, these therapies have solid research support for easing pain and improving comfort, though they work best alongside conventional medical care.
What did this study find?
Music therapy, aromatherapy, and massage therapy showed promise in improving comfort for patients in palliative care with end-of-life needs. These complementary therapies demonstrated potential benefits for managing pain and difficult symptoms in patients nearing the end of life. The reviewed studies indicated that music therapy, aromatherapy, and massage therapy may enhance quality of life in palliative care patients.
How strong is this evidence?
This is a systematic review and we rate its evidence strong. It was published in Journal of pain and symptom management, a Q1 journal. This study is indexed here for context; it did not test reflexology itself.
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