Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Nov;64(5):478-485.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2022.07.007. Epub 2022 Jul 20.

Music Therapy for Pain in Black and White Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Study

Alexandria Lichtl  1 , Camila Casaw  2 , Jasmine Edwards  3 , Karen Popkin  2 , Jennifer Yu  2 , Qing S Li  2 , Malik Cadwell  2 , Jun J Mao  2 , Kevin T Liou  4
Affiliations

Music Therapy for Pain in Black and White Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Study

Alexandria Lichtl et al. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Context: Racial pain disparities present challenges to cancer symptom management. Music therapy has demonstrated benefits for pain and is a promising treatment option for diverse populations due to music's multicultural presence. However, Black cancer patients are under-represented in music therapy trials.

Objectives: This study compared pain severity, treatment approaches, and responses to music therapy between Black and white cancer patients. The findings will be used to generate hypotheses for future music therapy research to address racial disparities in pain management.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective program evaluation of Black and white patients who received music therapy at an NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. We used the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) to assess pain. We abstracted opioid use, music therapy referral reasons, and treatment approaches from the electronic health record.

Results: Among 358 patients, 18% were Black, 42% reported moderate-to-severe pain, and 47% received opioids. Black patients reported higher baseline pain than white patients, but similar proportions of Black and white patients received opioids. Greater proportions of Black patients received music therapy referrals for pain (73% vs. 56%, P = 0.04) and engaged in active techniques (92% vs. 82%, P = 0.04). Black and white patients reported clinically meaningful pain reduction of similar magnitude after music therapy. Black patients discussed spirituality more commonly during music therapy, whereas white patients focused on family bonds.

Conclusion: Black and white patients reported clinically meaningful pain reduction through varying music therapy approaches. Our findings may help inform cultural adaptations of music therapy to address racial pain disparities in oncology.

Keywords: Oncology; health disparities; integrative medicine; music therapy; pain management.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

DISCLOSURES

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Commonly Documented Music Therapy Approaches and Responses Among Black and White Cancer Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Pain.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Onyeakusi NE, Mukhtar F, Gbadamosi SO, et al. Cancer-related pain is an independent predictor of in-hospital opioid overdose: a propensity-matched analysis. Pain Medicine 2019;20:2552–61. - PubMed
    1. Nipp RD, El-Jawahri A, Moran SM, et al. The relationship between physical and psychological symptoms and health care utilization in hospitalized patients with advanced cancer. Cancer 2017;123:4720–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Greco MT, Roberto A, Corli O, et al. Quality of cancer pain management: an update of a systematic review of undertreatment of patients with cancer. J Clin Oncol 2014;32:4149–54. - PubMed
    1. Roberto A, Greco MT, Uggeri S, et al. Living systematic review to assess the analgesic undertreatment in cancer patients. Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain 2022. - PubMed
    1. Cleeland CS, Gonin R, Baez L, Loehrer P, Pandya KJ. Pain and treatment of pain in minority patients with cancer. The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Minority Outpatient Pain Study. Annals of internal medicine 1997;127:813–6. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances