Effectiveness of music intervention as an adjuvant therapy for pain management during the period after surgery in patients with tibia- fibula fractures admitted to orthopaedic ward in a public tertiary hospital of rwanda

Abstract

Background: Poorly controlled pain during the period after surgery remains a significant challenge. The severity of pain varies depending on the type of surgical procedure conducted. Besides, cognitive, emotional, and behavioural processes have been associated with pain perception. Currently, interest in nonpharmacological modalities including music-based interventions is growing to assess their effects on neurophysiology.

Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate effectiveness of music intervention as an adjuvant therapy in attenuating pain after surgery among day three patients with Tibia/fibula fractures admitted to orthopaedic ward, in a public tertiary hospital, Rwanda.

Methodology: A cross-sectional pre-test, post-test experimental study design was utilized in this study. Simple- random sampling was used to allocate participants to intervention and control group. A participant-selected music genre was encouraged in the intervention group. Data collection was performed using a demographic questionnaire (appendix 1) and VAS (appendix 2). SPSS software, version 29.0 was utilized for data analysis. Baseline socio demographic data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Differences of the outcome measure (intensity of pain) and physiological parameters before and after intervention were analysed using independent-samples t-test. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was further conducted to adjust for possible covariates. The results were considered statistically significant when a p < 0.05 (5%) was observed. Tables, and pie-charts were used for data presentation.

Findings: Findings from this study revealed that the use of music alongside conventional therapy significantly reduced pain in patients in the interventional group than those in the control group who received conventional therapy alone. t (18) = -2.726, P=0.014. On the other hand, music had no significant impact on the physiological parameters post intervention, systolic BP, (t (18) = -1.154, P=0.263), diastolic BP (t (18) =-1.674, P=0.112), HR (t (18) = -1.421, P=0.173), RR (t (18) = 1.498, P= 0.178)

Conclusion: Incorporating music therapy into pain management plans can promote better patient outcomes and reduce the use of analgesics, thus minimizing the risk of adverse effects associated with these drugs. To enhance implementation of music therapy, there is need to provide a roadmap for future research and practical recommendations to healthcare and learning institutions.