Open AccessThe overview of utilizing complementary therapy to relieve stress or anxiety in emergency department patients: animal-assisted therapy, art therapy, and music therapy
Author(s) -
Tsz Yuen Au,
Chanika Assavarittirong
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
mental health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2612-2138
DOI - 10.32437/mhgcj.v4i2.125
Subject(s) - emergency department , medicine , anxiety , adverse effect , music therapy , art therapy , exposure therapy , randomized controlled trial , depression (economics) , complementary therapy , affect (linguistics) , clinical trial , quality of life (healthcare) , physical therapy , intensive care medicine , alternative medicine , psychiatry , psychology , nursing , pathology , economics , macroeconomics , communication
The Emergency Department could be a stressful environment for patients. Anxiety and depression may develop due to the atmosphere, in addition to patients’ concerns for their health conditions. The condition could potentially affect the experience of the patient in the Emergency Department and the quality of life after the visit. Pharmacological therapy could be administered to the patients. However, adverse effects may be associated with the treatment. Less aggressive complementary treatment approaches are presented in this article. Controlled clinical trials and randomized pilot studies of different complementary therapies, including animal-assisted therapy, art therapy, and music therapy, were conducted. The complementary therapies discussed in this article showed positive outcomes for patients with hospital-induced anxiety and has no adverse effect reported. Hence, hospitals may consider introducing complementary therapies, such as those mentioned in this study, to improve the patients’ experiences in the Emergency Department