Summary
The use of music in therapy is a widely researched area and has proven to have a positive impact on patients. As a result, Kempter et al. (2008) sought to find out if music had a similar or different effect on young oncology outpatient. The study’s set-up was the presence or absence of music in the waiting rooms before seeing the pediatric oncologist. As soon as their waiting time was up, data was collected to gauge the mood and mindfulness of the patients. The results were staggering and in line with other studies despite the limited purview. The patients were more relaxed whenever they came from a waiting room that had some music playing. The study showed a decrease in the parasympathetic activity of the subjects as well. The patients were a lot calmer and in no hurry to leave while also being positively responsive to the doctors.
Critique
However, one shortcoming of the study is the failure to measure if the change in mood was due to the music or the patients getting used to the routine. The research was a success and raised various issues that need to be explored further by future research. The fact that the young patients noted the music is a sign that music has far more uses than we may understand at the moment. Future researchers may go a step further and check if the music plays a role in the recovery of the patients and how it affects people of different ages. The research could also go further to check the different reactions of the subjects to the different genres of music. While the research was a good idea, it raises a number of questions that cannot be answered. Future studies into the area, therefore, can base their work on the shortcomings of this study and improve on it to cover a wider scope.
References
Kemper, K. J., Hamilton, C. A., McLean, T. W., & Lovato, J. (2008). Impact of music on pediatric oncology outpatients. Pediatric research, 64(1), 105-109.