Joel Ian D.

Espenilla

BSN III – 1N

A Music Intervention to Reduce Anxiety Prior

to Gastrointestinal Procedures

Patients scheduled for gastrointestinal procedures such as colonoscopy or

esophagogastroduodenoscopy are often anxious and frightened. High levels of
anxiety may result in more difficult and painful procedures. Past research has
reported education, coping skills, relaxation techniques, and combinations of these
including music, have decreased anxiety in patients across many settings.

Self-selected music therapy for preprocedural anxiety has not been studied.

A randomized controlled trial of 198 patients was undertaken to determine

whether 15 minutes of self-selected music reduced preprocedure anxiety. The State
Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to measure patients' anxiety.

One-hundred ninety-three men and 5 women comprised the sample with an

average age of 61 (SD 10.5). Patients who listened to music (n = 100) reduced their
anxiety score from 36.7 (SD 9.1) to 32.3 (SD 10.4), while those who did not listen to
music (n = 98) reduced their anxiety score from 36.1 (SD 8.3) to 34.6 (SD 11.5).
These differences were statistically significant (F = 7.5, p = .007) after controlling
for trait anxiety. There were no significant vital sign changes premusic and
postmusic.

Music is a noninvasive nursing intervention that can significantly reduce

patients' anxiety prior to gastrointestinal procedures.

Further research should address using music to reduce anxiety in other

procedure areas and testing effectiveness of self-selected versus investigator-
selected music in reducing anxiety.
Reaction:

The study tackles about the effect of music to reduce anxiety of patients
undergoing colonoscopy or esophagogastroduodenoscopy. A sample was taken and
the results were statistically significant, that patients are quite more relaxed when
hearing music during the procedure. The study did proved the advantages of music,
though the study needs to use more factors to reduce anxiety of patients
undergoing such procedures.

Using music to relax patients is a common technique among hospitals. As

what I had observed from those hospitals that I had been affiliated, some special
rooms are equipped with stereos, and when procedures start, music is played. The
study has lesser significance to the world of nursing because of its early
applications to many interventions.

If can only suggest, the study should also involve the use of different genres
of music to determine the most effective genre that patients are most relaxed. In
that way, nurses in the endoscopy unit are aware of the most effective anxiety-
relieving music to play. Also, the study should also involve the taste of the patient
on music. There is a possibility that patients have different tastes in music; some
like classical but others like rock. Determining their taste of genre, there is less
occurrence of ineffective use of music as a relaxation technique.

But what as I had observed from the hospitals that I had been affiliated with, I
had noticed that nurses only play their song of choice, but not considering songs for
the patient to be relax. The therapeutic effect of the music is not brought to the
patient, which is more likely negligence to nurses, not considering care to the
patient. Hospital staffs must observe this in order that the hospital to become more
patient-friendly.