Abstract

• The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of music therapy on changes in the vital signs of patients about to undergo an operation. The patients listened to the music at a time when they were feeling preoperative anxiety up until the preanesthesia was given in the operating room. The subjects for this study were selected from sixty patients to undergo operations, who were hospitalized at Dong Eui hospital in Pusan city. They were assigned to two groups, thirty to the experimental group and thirty to the control group. The subjects were from 20 years old to 69 years old, and had no other problem except the one requiring the operation, and no premedication. The data were collected during the period from July 1 to September 30, 1993. The method used in this study was to measure state-anxiety on the ward in the morning of the operation, and vital signs immediately before leaving for the operating room. Vital signs were measured immediately before the anesthesia was given and after the experimental group had listened to the music during the ten minutes needed to prepare the operation setting. The control group just waited during ten mimutes. Vital signs were check again before the anesthesia was given. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, mean +/- SD, p-value, and t-test using the SPSS progrom. The results of this study are: 1. Systolic blood pressure taken in the operating room was elevated, over the level measured on the ward, by 5.00 +/- 15.26mmHg in experimental group and 18.67 +/- 14.56mmHg in control group. (t=-3.5496, p=.0008) 2. Diastolic blood pressure was elevated by 6.67 +/- 12.95mmHg in experimental group and 18.67 +/- 12. 79mmHg in control group. (t=-3.6100, p=.0006) 3. Pulse was elevated by 2.93 +/- 9.44/min in exper-imental group and 8.03 +/- 8.37/min in control group. (t=-2.2144, p=.0307) 4. Respiration was elevated by 0.60 +/- 1.35/min in experimental group and 1.57 +/- 1.48/min in control group. (t=-2.6409, p=.0106) 5. Body temperature was down by 0.13 +/- 1.91 degrees C in experimental group and elevated by 1.13 +/- 1.11 degrees C in control group. (t=-3.1471, p=.0026) Thus, in this study there was a statistically significant difference in the change in the vital signs between the experimental group treated with music therapy and the control group which received no treatment. Because music therapy is valuable to decrease the anxiety of patients facing operations, the result of this study support its effect in relieving anxiety as a valuable nursing intervention. From this study, the following recommendations can be made: First, it is necessary to further study music therapy to develope a better system and determine optimal time. Second, it is necessary that more detailed research on measurement of changes in vital signs be done to determine changes over time intervals.

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