The effect of live versus recorded preferred sedative music on pain intensity perception in hospice patients

The purpose of this study was to determine if live or recorded preferred sedative music differs in its effect on pain perception in hospice patients. Seventeen cognitively oriented older adults with moderate to severe chronic pain receiving hospice services from three hospices in the Midwest with a mean age of 78 years participated in the study. Nine participants received the live music condition and eight received the recorded music condition. After initially rating their pain intensity level on a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), participants again rated their pain intensity level using the NRS after the 20- to 25-minute experimental condition was completed. Results of the study, although not generalizable due to the small number of participants, indicated that live music resulted in a larger reduction in pain perception in hospice patients than did recorded music. Case studies are discussed.