Effects of cognitive-behavioral music therapy on fatigue in patients in a blood and marrow transplantation unit: A mixed-method pilot study

• Music therapy can be effective treatment for blood and marrow transplant patients.
• Cognitive-behavioral music therapy may be an effective treatment concerning multidimensional aspects of fatigue.
• Experimental participants had more favorable scores than control participants.
• Patient-preferred live music can be an effective intervention on fatigue.
• Qualitative results support cognitive-behavioral music therapy with patients on a blood and marrow unit.

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is an under-treated condition frequently experienced by cancer patients, which can negatively affect wellbeing during and after hospitalization. The purpose of this mixed-method pilot study was to determine if and how cognitive-behavioral music therapy (CBMT) might reduce fatigue in hospitalized patients in an adult blood and marrow transplant (BMT) unit. The researchers measured the effects of CBMT on five aspects of participant fatigue using a convergent parallel mixed-method design. The participants (N = 11) were randomly assigned to experimental or wait-list control conditions and completed the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (Smets, Garssen, Bonke, & De Haes, 1995) at pre- and posttest. The experimental participants completed a semi-structured interview prior to hospital discharge. The quantitative results indicated no significant between-group differences regarding fatigue. However, the experimental participants tended to have decreases in the mean fatigue scores from pre- to posttest, whereas the control participants had increases in the mean fatigue scores from pre- to posttest. The qualitative data tended to support the quantitative data and indicated that CBMT: (a) cognitively influenced fatigue by increasing motivation and self-efficacy, (b) affectively influenced fatigue by promoting relaxation and restful states, and (c) represented a meaningful, unique, and holistic service for hospitalized BMT patients. CBMT may be an effective intervention regarding various aspects of fatigue in hospitalized BMT patients. Because of the small sample size, the results should be interpreted with caution. The limitations of the study, implications for clinical practice, and suggestions for future research are provided.