Impact of music therapy and hand massage in the pediatric intensive care unit on pain, fear and stress: Randomized controlled trial.

Q: How strong is this evidence?

This is a randomised trial and we rate its evidence moderate. It covers 99 participants. It was published in Journal of pediatric nursing, a Q2 journal. This study is indexed here for context; it did not test reflexology itself.

Authors: Dilek Küçük Alemdar, Azime Bulut, Gamze YilmazJournal: Journal of pediatric nursingPublished: July 7, 2023DOI: 10.1016/j.pedn.2023.05.007

Q2 JournalSJR: 1.234h-index: 45SCImago

Moderate EvidenceRandomized Controlled Trialn=99 participants

Chronic Stress

In Plain Language: stress, explained

This study explored how music therapy and hand massage can reduce pain, fear, and stress in adolescents aged 12 to 18 who are receiving treatment in a pediatric intensive care unit. The results showed that both therapies significantly decreased pain and fear levels during blood-drawing procedures compared to standard care, which is important for improving the comfort of young patients in high-stress medical situations.

Key Findings: what this randomised trial found about stress

✓Adolescents in the music therapy group showed significantly lower pain levels during the procedure compared to the control group (p < 0.05).
✓Fear levels were lowest during the procedure for the music therapy group.
✓Both the music therapy and hand massage groups had significantly reduced fear levels compared to the control after the procedure (p < 0.05).
✓No significant difference was found in cortisol levels between the groups across multiple time points (p > 0.05).

What This Means for You

For adolescents facing procedures like blood draws, reflexology treatment, along with techniques such as music therapy, can help lessen pain and anxiety, making the experience more manageable and less distressing.

What This Means for Practitioners

Reflexology practitioners can integrate music therapy and hand massage into their treatments, especially for young patients in stressful environments like hospitals, to enhance comfort and lessen fear and pain during medical procedures.

Study Design: how this randomised trial was run

Blinding

single blind

Control

none

Duration

single session

Sample Size

99 participants

Limitations: what it cannot tell you about stress

The study's single-blind design may limit the impact of expectations on the outcomes, and the reliance on subjective measures like pain and fear scales may not capture the full effectiveness of the therapies.

Read Full Paper↗

Stress: common questions

What does this study say about stress?

What did this study find?

Adolescents in the music therapy group showed significantly lower pain levels during the procedure compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Fear levels were lowest during the procedure for the music therapy group. Both the music therapy and hand massage groups had significantly reduced fear levels compared to the control after the procedure (p < 0.05).

How strong is this evidence?

This is a randomised trial and we rate its evidence moderate. It covers 99 participants. It was published in Journal of pediatric nursing, a Q2 journal. This study is indexed here for context; it did not test reflexology itself.