The effect of music therapy on dyspnoea severity and life findings in COPD patients hospitalised in intensive care unit: A randomised controlled study

The study was conducted as a randomized controlled study to examine the effect of music therapy on dyspnea severity and vital signs in patients diagnosed with COPD in the secondary care intensive care unit. This study was conducted with 60 patients hospitalized in the secondary level intensive care unit of a district state hospital between 01.01.2024 and 19.04.2024. For music therapy, the experimental group (n=30) was given passive instrumental music in the Hüseyni maqam with headphones for a total of 30 minutes in the morning for one day. No application was made to the control group (n = 30). Demographic Data Form, Modified Borg Scale and Vital Signs Recording Chart were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27 program. Numbers and percentages were calculated for sociodemographic data. To examine the differences between the experimental and control groups, independent sample t-test was applied to normally distributed data and Mann Whitney U test was applied to non-normally distributed data. In intra-group comparisons, if the data were normally distributed, the dependent variable T-test was applied, and if it was not normally distributed, the Wilcoxon test was applied. Analyzes were applied at the 0.05 significance level. It was determined that the demographic and health-related characteristics of the experimental and control groups were homogeneous. When the experimental and control groups were compared in terms of dyspnea severity and vital signs, no statistically significant difference was found. However, in the intra-group pre-test-post-test comparisons of the experimental group, the severity of dyspnea, systolic and systolic in the measurements after the application of music therapy (3rd and 4th measurements) compared to both the first measurement (1st measurement) and the measurement just before the music therapy (2nd measurement). There is a decrease in blood pressure and pulse rate; It was found that oxygen saturation increased. In the control group, a statistical difference was found only in the 3rd and 4th measurements compared to the 1st measurement. As a result, it can be said that music therapy had no significant effect on dyspnea severity and vital signs. Nurses can use music therapy to provide short-term relief to patients in terms of dyspnea severity, vital signs, and general relaxation. In future research, the effects of different music genres can be examined with large sample groups; New studies can be planned by taking different control variables into account. Additionally, the effect of physiological changes and environmental factors should be taken into consideration; Music therapy application time should be increased.