The effects of live therapeutic music on patient's affect and perceptions of care: a randomized field study.
AIM
This article examines the effects of live therapeutic music (LTM) on patients in a hospital setting. LTM was hypothesized to directly increase patients' positive affect and to indirectly influence their perceptions of the care they received.


METHOD
One hundred patients participated in a two group (fifty per group), quasi-experimental design in which they completed a very brief questionnaire assessing their affect and perceptions of care. Half of the participants were exposed to LTM at the bedside. The other half served as a comparison group. A structural equation model was used to test the hypothesized effects of LTM.


RESULTS
The model explained 63% of the variance in patient's affect and 10% of the variance in perceptions of care.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients respond to LTM with increased positive affect and by assigning higher ratings to the care they receive. LTM could be used as a viable means to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction.
['Mogos|Mulubrhan F|MF|', 'Angard|Nancy|N|', 'Goldstein|Lloyd|L|', 'Beckstead|Jason W|JW|']
D000339:Affect D006760:Hospitalization D006801:Humans D008954:Models, Biological D009146:Music D009147:Music Therapy D017060:Patient Satisfaction D010465:Perception D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Live therapeutic music Perceptions of care Positive affect