1. The study’s purpose was to learn more about the effects of music therapy on adolescents with cancer receiving palliative care. The researchers (Franco, et al., 2021.) thought that children and adolescent patients might find comfort and relief from music therapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the patients’ perceptions of music therapy and its effects on their overall health. Researchers (Franco, et al., 2021.) state that children and teenagers diagnosed with cancer can benefit from music therapy since it facilitates emotional expression, memory retrieval, and hope despite the situations. Children and adolescents with cancer may experience a higher quality of life due to music therapy, which also aids in the palliative phase.
Another research (Children’s National Hospital, n.d.) shows that music therapy can be beneficial in various situations. For example, prior to and during treatments, children who get music therapy exhibit enhanced coping behaviors. Additionally, music therapy improves the feeling of pain and helps lower the sense of pain and the need for analgesics.
What did their study do that those other studies did not do?
Their research was unique among studies because it concentrated on the perspectives and experiences of children receiving palliative care. While many other studies on music therapy have focused on adults or various medical conditions, this one focused on a particular population with special needs. The goal of the study was to collect data that could improve the support and care provided to these young patients during difficult circumstances.
2. Chosen article: “Patients’ experiences and perceptions of dignity in end‐of‐life care in emergency departments: A qualitative study.”
This study examined how patients perceive and experience dignity at the end of their lives (Martí‐García et al., 2022). Through in-depth interviews in emergencies nearing the end of their lives, this study found that patients often feel vulnerable and inhumane in urgent situations in emergency rooms. Lack of privacy and lack of communication were cited as factors that robbed patients of their dignity. Also, one of the factors was that in the emergency room, patients were treated in a way that made them feel like impersonal people rather than being seen as a person. The study highlights the importance of creating a more dignified and respectful environment for end-of-life care and highlights the need for healthcare professionals to be trained to provide more empathetic care.
Qualitative research does not provide quantitative answers to a research topic. The purpose of qualitative research is to develop concepts that help understand social phenomena in natural settings rather than laboratories, emphasizing the meanings, experiences, and perspectives of all study subjects (Tenny et al., 2022). In other words, qualitative research asks, “How many Xs are there?” Instead, we are more interested in answering the question, “What is X, and how can X vary in different environments?” Qualitative research plays a vital role in the medical field. For example, this study, “Patients’ Experiences and Perceptions of Dignity in End-of-life Care,” shows how important it is for patients to maintain their dignity in their final moments. Qualitative research provides a deep understanding of patients’ personal feelings and thoughts that are difficult to understand through numbers or statistics (Hoover, 2021). Qualitative research like this can help clinicians understand patients’ actual needs and provide better care while maintaining dignity. While previous studies on end-of-life care have primarily focused on hospice and palliative care settings, this qualitative study differentiates itself by focusing more on the needs of terminally ill patients. In particular, unlike other studies, this study asks questions and concerns about how patient dignity can be undermined in the urgent and hectic environment of the emergency department and what steps can be taken to improve this aspect of patient care. Death in the emergency room is considered a failure of medical treatment, and hospice and palliative care approaches are thought to conflict with ER treatment, making it difficult for critically ill patients to die with dignity. Therefore, the role of nurses in providing end-of-life care is vital for the peaceful death of critically ill patients at the end of their lives. It can be confirmed that end-of-life care by emergency room nurses plays a significant role in helping an individual finish their life well and that end-of-life care is a part that cannot be neglected compared to other nursing activities. This qualitative study raises the question: What is the meaning of care in end-of-life care for emergency room nurses?
