THE EFFECT OF PASSIVE MUSIC THERAPY ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF FAMILY CAREGIVERS OF CANCER PATIENTS UNDERGOING CHEMOTHERAPY REFERRING TO IMAM KHOMEINI UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL AT URMIA, IRAN IN 2022

Cancer, as the second cause of death in Iran, has claimed the lives of 79,000 patients in just 2021. Although cancer mostly affects the life of involved person, but fighting cancer is a family matter, because this disease, with its challenging nature during the treatment period, also affects the lives of those who are responsible mostly for care. This study aimed to determine the effect of passive music therapy on the quality of life of family caregivers of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy referring to Imam Khomeini University Hospital at Urmia, Iran in 2022.

This semi-experimental study was conducted with a pre-and post-test design without a control group using convenience sampling. Thirty family caregivers were entered in the study. The intervention consisted of passive music therapy with nature sounds along with moving pictures of nature, which was applied to the patient and his/her family caregiver two days a week for one month. The study tools used included demographic and quality of life questionnaires for family caregivers of cancer patients, which were completed by the subjects before and after the intervention. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 16 statistical software. A significant level of P<0.05 considered as significant.

The results show a statistically significant difference in family caregivers' mean quality of life (P=0.0001). In the subscales of the quality of life of the family caregiver, care burden (P=0.0001), lifestyle disruption (P=0.002), positive adaptation (P=0.0001), and economic concern (P=0.0001) were significant.

The results showed that passive music therapy can be one of the low-cost, harmless methods that have an impact on the quality of life of family caregivers of cancer patients. In addition to the treatment of this incurable disease, passive music therapy can reduce the damage to their psyche and calm them and prevent the occurrence of underlying diseases.