Effects of Coping-Infused Dialogue through Patient Preferred Music on Affective State and Pain with Adult Medical Inpatients: Two Randomized Pilot Studies

The purpose of these studies was to determine if the addition of coping-infused dialogue (CID) to patient preferred live music (PPLM) adversely impacted affective state and pain among adult medical inpatients during two studies. Participants were adults hospitalized on solid organ transplant (study 1; N = 20) and medical oncology/hematology (study 2; N = 39) units. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: CID-PPLM or PPLM only. Participants completed affective state and pain self-report instruments at preand posttest within single-session designs congruent with the CID-PPLM protocol. There was no between-group difference at posttest, indicating that the addition of CID to PPLM did not negatively impact affective state or pain. Concerning within-group data, there were significant preto posttest differences in affective states and pain. The addition of CID to PPLM did not adversely impact affective state or pain. However, participants in the CID-PPLM group may have gained more problem solving and coping skills as well as affective and pain benefits. Limitations of the study, implications for clinical practice, and suggestions for further research are provided.