Music therapy and intimacy behaviors of hospice family caregivers in South Korea: A randomized crossover clinical trial

Abstract

Family caregivers may experience emotional and relational distress due to decreased intimacy and communication with their loved one at end-of-life. The purpose of the study was to examine intimacy behaviors in a family–patient relationship at the end-of-life with the central research question: Is there a difference in frequency of family caregivers’ intimacy acts, defined and recorded as verbal intimacy, affective intimacy, and physical intimacy with their dying loved one when comparing music therapy and chaplaincy? Ten patient and family caregiver dyads participated in both a 15-min music therapy session, and a 15-min chaplaincy session in a randomized controlled crossover trial with AB/BA design. Sessions were video recorded and analyzed using the Family Intimacy Observation Scale, a researcher-developed tool. Intimacy behaviors were compared using the Wilcoxon Signed-rank Test. Music therapy resulted in statistically significant higher affective intimacy and physical intimacy behaviors toward a dying loved one when compared to chaplaincy. No statistically significant differences were found in overall verbal intimacy; however, the verbal behavior of “letting go of loved one” was significantly higher in music therapy versus chaplaincy. Music therapy may be an effective therapeutic modality to increase emotional and physical intimacy in a family–patient relationship at the end-of-life.