The Common Issues in Hospice Music Therapy : A Survey of Hospice Music Therapists

Hospice patients experience physical, cognitive, psychological, social and spiritual challenges. Literature has suggested the needs of hospice patients, and the goals, methods, techniques and case examples in hospice music therapy. However, the statistical information about the general hospice music therapy practice is not sufficient. Thus, it is necessary to collect data about the common issues in hospice music therapy involving hospice patients, their family caregivers and hospice music therapists. The purpose of this study is to gather experiential information about the common issues in hospice music therapy practices. The quantitative and qualitative data were obtained from a survey of a total 50 hospice music therapists. From the data, the information about general hospice music therapy sessions (frequency, place and duration), the ranking of common issues in hospice music therapy (on patients, family caregivers and therapists), common goals and methods, and hospice music therapists’ job satisfaction was demonstrated. Also, some differences depending on the participants’ years of work experience were indicated. The hospice music therapy goals identified for hospice patients relatively correspond to the ranking of the five domains of hospice patients’ needs. This study suggests successful outcomes about the current hospice music therapy practice, and induces some meaningful inferences