Type of Document	Thesis
Author	Brown, Jessica Lee
URN	etd-11092006-185644
Title	Comparison of the effects of music and conversation on hospice patients' predisposition to communicate and communication behaviors
Degree	Master of Science
Department	Communication Disorders, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Joanne Lasker Committee Chair Jayne Standley Committee Member Michelle Bourgeois Committee Member
Keywords	music conversation quality and quantity hospice palliative end-of-life
Date of Defense	2006-11-02
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract While researchers acknowledge broad therapeutic effects of music for patients at the end of life, limited information is available regarding the specific effects of music therapy compared with conversation-based treatment on communication behaviors and predisposition to communicate in hospice patients. Using a pretest-posttest repeated measures design, this study compared the quantity and quality of narrative and conversational advice-giving behaviors as well as the client’s predisposition to communicate after both music therapy sessions and conversation-based life review sessions. Ten hospice patients participated in both music therapy and conversation-based life review treatment sessions. Prior to and immediately following both interventions, participants described a Norman Rockwell picture, participated in an advice-giving conversation task, and rated themselves on a Communication Predisposition Scale created by the researcher. Results revealed that participants rated their own willingness to talk significantly more highly after music therapy than after conversation-based life review. In addition, participants participated actively during one or both types of interventions, with more than half of the participants either performing musical activities or conversing at least 50% of the duration time. Statistical analysis of other dependent measures revealed no significant differences in conversation behaviors between treatment conditions; however, positive changes in verbal output in picture description were noted after both music therapy and conversation-based life review interventions, suggesting that both music therapy and conversation-based engagement may facilitate communication with terminally ill patients at the end of life.
Files	Filename       Size       Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)     28.8 Modem   56K Modem   ISDN (64 Kb)   ISDN (128 Kb)   Higher-speed Access    BrownJThesis.pdf 2.13 Mb 00:09:51 00:05:04 00:04:26 00:02:13 00:00:11