The effect of nature sounds and music on vital signs and anxiety levels of hemodialysis patients

The research was conducted as a randomized controlled experimental research to examine the effect of nature sounds and music on vital signs and anxiety levels of hemodialysis patients. The research was conducted between September 2019 and March 2020 with 75 patients who received treatment in the hemodialysis units of three hospitals, one university, one education research and one state hospital in Antalya province, who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the research. Patients were homogenously divided into intervention and control groups according to age, gender and hemodialysis duration. Patients in the intervention group were allowed to listen to nature sounds (n=25) and music (n=25) for 30 minutes during the hemodialysis process for three sessions, while patients in the control group (n=25) did not receive any treatment during the process. The data of the research were collected by face-to-face interview method using the Descriptive Characteristics Form, Vital Signs Monitoring Form, State Anxiety Scale and Trait Anxiety Scale. Ethics committee approval, institutional permissions and written consent of the patients were obtained for the application of the study. Number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum, Shapiro Wilk Normality test, One-Way Analysis of Variance, Chi-square analysis, Kruskal-Wallis test, Dunn-Bonferroni test, Tukey HSD, Three-Way Analysis of Variance in Repeated Measures and Two Ratio Z test with Bonferroni Correction were used in the assessment of the data. As a result of the research, it was determined that the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate and respiratory rate and state anxiety scores of the patients in the intervention groups decreased significantly and peripheral oxygen saturation increased significantly at the time of measurement compared to the control group (p<0.05). No significant difference was found between nature sound and music listening in terms of vital signs and anxiety levels (p>0.05). In conclusion, it was determined that nature sounds and music listening had positive effects on vital signs and anxiety levels in patients to whom hemodialysis treatment was applied. In line with these results, it is recommended to expand the use of nature sounds and music listening methods as a non-pharmacological, easy-to-apply, non-invasive and safe nursing intervention. Keywords: Anxiety, Hemodialysis, Music, Nature Sounds, Vital Signs