What About the Caregivers? Music Medicine as a Tool for Improving Psychological Well-Being Among Caregivers During Cancer Chemotherapy Treatment.

Abstract

Music medicine is an effective therapeutic tool to improve patient mood during outpatient chemotherapy infusion. Research has yet to explore how music medicine may impact the psychological well-being of caregivers who accompany patients and if there are dyadic effects on well-being when patients and caregivers are both listening to self-selected music during patients' chemotherapy. Participants (N = 227) in this multisite, randomized control study were caregivers who accompanied patients during chemotherapy infusion. Participants were randomly assigned to music (listen to self-selected music for ≤60 minutes) or no music conditions. Outcomes were self-reported change in positive and negative mood (Positive and Negative Affect Scale) and distress (Distress Thermometer). LASSO-based penalized linear regression models with leave-one-out cross-validation were used to identify potential covariates. Dyadic analyses used Actor-Partner Interdependence Models (APIM). Caregivers who listened to music during patients' chemotherapy appointments reported a significant increase in positive mood and decrease in distress compared with caregivers who did not listen to music. There was no effect of music medicine on change in caregiver negative mood. LASSO models did not identify any significant covariates of intervention effects. However, negative mood was positively associated with being African American and baseline anxiety and depression. APIM analyses found largely actor effects for the intervention. Music medicine is a low-touch, low-risk, and cost-effective way to manage not only patient but also caregiver psychological well-being during chemotherapy. Listening to self-selected music for even a brief period leads to more positive mood and less distress in caregivers, providing evidence for recommending dyadic music medicine interventions during patients' infusion treatments.