Authors (including presenting author) :
Lau HM (1), Wong KY(1), Tang PY (1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Surgery, United Christian Hospital
Introduction :
Cancer pain is one of the greatest problems among cancer patients, it can negatively impact not only their physical and mental health but also their overall quality of life (QoL). Patients with cancer pain were mostly treated with pharmacological methods. The non-pharmacological strategies of treating cancer pain were shown to be inadequate. It has been demonstrated that non-pharmacological methods, such as music intervention, can effectively reduce pain and anxiety while also improving the QoL for cancer patients. Therefore, music intervention was designed and applied in our department for cancer patients to optimize pain management.
Objectives :
1)To investigate the effectiveness in music intervention for patients who have cancer pain. 2)To provide a non-pharmacological method to reduce the pain and anxiety for the cancer patients and thus to improve their QoL.
Methodology :
Firstly, staff education sessions on music intervention were introduced. To expand the expertise and improve the staff knowledge and awareness of music intervention in cancer pain management, a 15-minute in-person staff education session about the knowledge of music intervention were held, aided with PowerPoint and music demonstration. A QR code was attached for review. Pre-and post-test with 10 MCQ and pre-and post-5-items Staff Self-efficacy Measurement Form to evaluate the session's effectiveness. Secondly, a patient education program was implemented. Before the music intervention, the nurse would first make sure that the participants have adequate analgesic. If pain persists, with a pain score of five or above, the nurse would advise patients to take part in the program. The patient education program began with a video that introduced the music intervention and was followed by a Q&A session where nurses can address participants' enquiries. The participants were given an iPad with soft music on it to listen to. An information sheet was provided for future reference. To evaluate the program's effectiveness, participants' pain intensity was evaluated by the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS); anxiety level was evaluated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); and Qol was evaluated by the European Organization For Research And Treatment Of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 15 Palliative Care (EORTC QLQ C15-PAL) before-and-after the intervention.
Result & Outcome :
Two staff education sessions were conducted during December 2023, total fourteen staff attended. The mean score of the pre-and post-test is 4.5 and 8.9, there is a 44% increase in knowledge of music intervention and pain management; while the mean score of pre-and post-education self-efficacy is 29.9 and 47, and there is a 34.2% rise in self-efficacy. 10 participants were recruited during January 2024. The mean pain score of the pre-and post-intervention is 8.1 and 4, there was a 41% reduction in pain. The mean anxiety level of the pre-and post-intervention is 14.9 and 11.2, a 37% drop in anxiety. The mean overall Qol score of the pre-and post-intervention is 3.3 and 5.2, and a 19% improvement in overall QoL. This pilot study provides cancer patients and nursing staff with evidence-based practice. Eventually, patients can benefit in better managing cancer symptoms, reducing pain and anxiety hence improving their QoL in this trial.
