Bacelar Arruda, M.A., Garcia, M.A., and Santos Garcia, J.B. (2016). Evaluation of the effects of music and poetry in oncologic pain relief: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 19, 943–948. 

To evaluate the effects of listening to music and poetry on pain, depression, and hope

Patients were randomly selected for inclusion and then randomly assigned to listen to instrumental music or poetry readings on a MP3 players or to a control group. Therapies were offered for three days and for 30 minutes at a time. Study measurements were obtained before and after the intervention on day 1 and again on the last day. Listening was monitored. The daily variations in pain of the music and poetry group were compared to those of the control group.

• N = 65   
• AGE RANGE = 18 years to older than 60 years
• MALES: 28%, FEMALES: 72%
• KEY DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Various tumor types
• OTHER KEY SAMPLE CHARACTERISTICS: Of the participants, 38% were receiving NSAIDs and weak opioids, and 43% were receiving NSAIDs and strong opioids.

• SITE: Single site   
• SETTING TYPE: Inpatient    
• LOCATION: Brazil

Randomized, parallel-group, prospective trial

• Visual analog scale (VAS) for pain
• Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)
• Herth Hope Scale

Listening to music was associated with improvement in pain (p < 0.001) and depression (p = 0.004). Listening to poetry was associated with improvement in pain (p < 0.001), depression (p = 0.001), and hope (p = 0.009). Individuals with either intervention had improvement in pain compared to the controls (p < 0.001), but no difference was observed in other outcomes.

Listening to music or poetry reading may help in the management of pain and depressive symptoms.

• Small sample (< 100)
• Risk of bias (no control group)
• Risk of bias (no blinding)
• Unintended interventions or applicable interventions not described that would influence results
• Measurement/methods not well described
• Although measurements were conducted at several time points during the study, the actual measurement used for reporting was not specified.
• No information was provided on the reason for patient hospitalization. 
• No information was provided regarding analgesic dosages or changes during the study period.

Listening to music or poetry may be beneficial to patients in the management of pain and dealing with depressive symptoms. Flaws in this study limit the strength of these findings; however, these are low-risk and low-cost interventions that might be beneficial. The type of music and poetry would likely affect the results for various patients.