Research and Quality Assurance in Music Therapy

Here at Capital Health, the Music Therapy Department is committed to ongoing research and quality assurance to ensure best practices.

Music Therapist Erin Montgomery was involved in a six month quality improvement project to provide music therapy services for patients on the inpatient palliative medicine unit of the QEII Health Sciences Centre. The project included the development of a patient and family information brochure, an electronic music library, a staff resource binder, and customized referral and assessment forms. Referral-based individualized music therapy sessions were provided by an accredited music therapist two afternoons per week for six months. This study provides reports on referral patterns as well as successes and challenges involved with implementing the program, provides data on outcomes in terminally ill patients, and outlines the potential for expansion of this service to other areas of our program.

Music Therapist Darrel Cameron was involved in a research study at the IWK Health Centre while providing music therapy as part of the Paediatric Palliative Care Service. The study explored the impact of music therapy on noise level, work performance, interactions with family and staff, and moods of Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurses. Results showed support for music therapy’s safe and effective use in the NICU environment and overwhelmingly positive effects on nurses’ moods. (See research document below).