Improving Perioperative Anxiety and Pain: Development of a Music Therapy Protocol

Perioperative anxiety is strongly correlated with a higher incidence of post-surgery pain, an increase in the need for analgesics and anesthetics, and delayed recovery and discharge from the hospital (Jimenez-Jimenez et al., 2013; Kuhlmann et al., 2018). Finding multimodal approaches to ease anxiety and discomfort from unfamiliar hospital surroundings is necessary to reduce perioperative anxiety and subsequent physiological complications (Ni et al., 2011). A review of current evidence-based literature revealed that music therapy significantly decreases both perioperative anxiety and pain levels in adult patients undergoing surgery. For this quality improvement project, a music therapy protocol was developed in collaboration with agency stakeholders at a critical access hospital in southern Illinois. After an educational presentation demonstrating the positive impact of music therapy, and the introduction of the music therapy protocol, perioperative staff and anesthesia providers integrated this protocol for adult patients undergoing surgery. Staff were then asked to complete an online survey to evaluate their perceptions of the protocol. Survey results revealed that after using the protocol, staff members perceived patients had decreased levels of both anxiety and pain. Additionally, staff members found the protocol easy to use and showed a strong level of support in continuing to use the protocol