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Music as a nursing intervention: Effects of music listening on blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate in abdominal surgery patients
Author(s) -
Vaajoki Anne,
Kankkunen Päivi,
Pietilä AnnaMaija,
VehviläinenJulkunen Katri
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
nursing and health sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.563
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1442-2018
pISSN - 1441-0745
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-2018.2011.00633.x
Subject(s) - medicine , respiratory rate , heart rate , blood pressure , music therapy , anesthesia , active listening , respiratory system , surgery , physical therapy , psychology , communication
Contradictory results have been presented on how music listening affects patients' blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of music listening on blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate on operation day, and on the first, second, and third postoperative days in abdominal surgery patients. Using a quasi‐experimental pretest–post‐test design, 168 abdominal surgery patients were assigned every second week to the music group ( n = 83) or to the control group ( n = 85) for 25 months. In the music group, the respiratory rate was significantly lower after intervention on both the first and second postoperative days compared with the control group. A significant reduction in systolic blood pressure was demonstrated in the group that received music compared with the control group on both the first and second postoperative days. Evaluation of the long‐term effects of music on physiological factors showed that the respiratory rate in the music group was significantly lower compared with the control group. Nurses should offer music listening to surgery patients because of its potential benefit.