Effects of Music Therapy on Spiritual Well-Being among Patients with Advanced Cancer in Palliative Care: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

PURPOSE: Patients with advanced cancer in palliative care often experience physical and psychological symptoms that negatively impact their quality of life (QoL) and spiritual well-being. Music therapy can be used for symptom management in these patients. However, the effectiveness is uncertain. To determine the effectiveness of music therapy on spiritual well-being, QoL, pain, and psychological distress using randomized controlled trials (RCTs). DATA SOURCE: A systematic search was conducted in EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Web of Science, and the ClinicalTrial.gov registry up to September 2022. CONCLUSION: The meta-analysis included seven RCTs with a total of 747 advanced cancer patients. Music therapy was found to significantly improve spiritual well-being with a mean difference of 0.43 (95% CI: 0.25 to 0.61, P < .001) in the intervention group compared to the control group. However, no significant group differences were found between the intervention and control groups for QoL (SMD: 0.53, 95% CI: -0.12 to 1.13, P = .11), pain (MD: -0.81, 95% CI: -2.06 to 0.44, P = .20), and psychological distress (SMD: -0.05, 95% CI: -0.41 to 0.32, P = .81). Music therapy can effectively improve the spiritual well-being of palliative care patients. However, its beneficial effects on QoL, pain, and psychological distress were minimal. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Music therapy interventions can be introduced to help patients deal with spiritual/existential needs. Future studies should identify optimal characteristics of music therapy interventions to aid in enhancing the quality of palliative care for patients with advanced cancer.

Effects of Walking Combined With Resistance Band Exercises on Alleviating Cancer-Related Fatigue: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

BACKGROUND: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a common symptom, and exercise has shown potential in alleviating CRF. However, there is a need for diverse exercise options tailored to individual patient needs. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the overall effects of a combined walking and resistance band exercise intervention in relieving CRF among cancer patients through randomized controlled trials. METHODS: Comprehensive searches were conducted in multiple databases to identify relevant studies up until March 2023. Inclusion criteria required the intervention to involve walking combined with elastic band training, with a clear exercise protocol description. The primary outcome was CRF, and secondary outcomes included walking steps, distance, mood distress, and quality of life. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using random-effects models. RESULTS: Ten trials were included. The intervention group showed significant improvements in CRF (SMD, -0.40; 95% CI, -0.60 to -0.20), mood distress (SMD, -0.30; 95% CI, -0.53 to -0.07), and daily walking steps (SMD, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.07-0.96) compared with the control group. Although the 6-Minute Walk Test and quality of life did not show significant differences, a trend toward improvement was observed in the intervention group. Adverse events related to the intervention were infrequent. CONCLUSION: A combined walking and resistance band exercise intervention can effectively alleviate CRF and improve mood distress and daily walking steps among cancer patients. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This exercise option may provide an additional strategy to manage CRF. Further research is needed to explore the optimal exercise prescription for individual patients.