Prevalence and pattern of acute and chronic multimorbidity across all body systems and age groups in primary health care.

Multimorbidity is more than just the addition of individual illnesses, and its diagnosis and treatment poses special problems. General practitioners play an important role in looking after multimorbid patients. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence and pattern of acute and chronic multimorbidity in primary care patients, regardless of body system and age group. A convenience sample of 2099 patients treated by 40 general practitioners was assessed using the Burvill scale. This measure of multimorbidity differentiates according to organ system and covers both acute and chronic illnesses. It also allows severity ratings to be assessed for both acute and chronic conditions, and thus patients' actual need for general practice care. Patients reported an average of 3.5 (SD = 2.0) acute and/or chronically affected body systems. Overall, 12.7% of patients reported only one health problem, 83.0% at least two, 65.8% at least three, 46.1% at least four, and 29.7% five or more. The most frequent problems were musculoskeletal (62.5%) and psychological (56.6%). Some morbidities were interrelated, while others co-occurred despite being medically independent. In primary care, multimorbidity is the rule rather than the exception. Acute and chronic morbidity both contribute to the burden of illness. Body systems reflect treatment needs. Instead of specialist treatment for individual illnesses, an integrative treatment approach is needed. This is the specialty of general practitioners.

Effects of music therapy in the treatment of children with delayed speech development - results of a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Language development is one of the most significant processes of early childhood development. Children with delayed speech development are more at risk of acquiring other cognitive, social-emotional, and school-related problems. Music therapy appears to facilitate speech development in children, even within a short period of time. The aim of this pilot study is to explore the effects of music therapy in children with delayed speech development. METHODS: A total of 18 children aged 3.5 to 6 years with delayed speech development took part in this observational study in which music therapy and no treatment were compared to demonstrate effectiveness. Individual music therapy was provided on an outpatient basis. An ABAB reversal design with alternations between music therapy and no treatment with an interval of approximately eight weeks between the blocks was chosen. Before and after each study period, a speech development test, a non-verbal intelligence test for children, and music therapy assessment scales were used to evaluate the speech development of the children. RESULTS: Compared to the baseline, we found a positive development in the study group after receiving music therapy. Both phonological capacity and the children's understanding of speech increased under treatment, as well as their cognitive structures, action patterns, and level of intelligence. Throughout the study period, developmental age converged with their biological age. Ratings according to the Nordoff-Robbins scales showed clinically significant changes in the children, namely in the areas of client-therapist relationship and communication. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that music therapy may have a measurable effect on the speech development of children through the treatment's interactions with fundamental aspects of speech development, including the ability to form and maintain relationships and prosodic abilities. Thus, music therapy may provide a basic and supportive therapy for children with delayed speech development. Further studies should be conducted to investigate the mechanisms of these interactions in greater depth. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered in the German clinical trials register; Trial-No.: DRKS00000343.

The Use of Music Therapy During the Treatment of Cancer Patients: A Collection of Evidence.

BACKGROUND: Music therapy is one of the oldest forms of creative art therapy and has been shown to have effects in different clinical and therapeutic settings, such as schizophrenia, pain, cardiovascular parameters, and dementia. This article provides an overview of some of the recent findings in this field and also reports two single case vignettes that offer insight into day-to-day applications of clinical music therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: For the collection of clinical studies of music therapy in oncology, the databases AMED, CAIRSS, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, and PSYNDEX were searched with the terms "Study OR Trial" AND "Music Therapy" AND "Cancer OR Oncolog$." Studies were analyzed with respect to their design, setting and interventions, indications, patients, and outcomes. In addition, two case vignettes present the application of music therapy for a child with leukemia and an adult patient with breast cancer. RESULTS: We found a total of 12 clinical studies conducted between 2001 and 2011 comprised of a total of 922 patients. Eight studies had a randomized controlled design, and four studies were conducted in the field of pediatric oncology. Studies reported heterogeneous results on short-term improvements in patients' mood and relaxation and reduced exhaustion and anxiety as well as in coping with the disease and cancer-related pain. Case descriptions showed similar effects in expressing emotions, opening up new goals, and turning the mind toward a healthy process and away form a disease-centered focus. CONCLUSION: The use of music therapy in the integrative treatment of cancer patients is a therapeutic option whose salutogenetic potential is shown in many case studies such as those presented here. Study results, however, did not draw a conclusive picture of the overall effect of music therapy. In addition to further clinical trials, the evidence mosaic should be complemented with qualitative studies, single case descriptions, and basic research.