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Featured article

Effects of Receptive Music Therapy Combined with Virtual Reality on Prevalent Symptoms in Patients with Advanced Cancer.
Agustina Iturri

Can you provide an overview of the article and the topics it explores?

This article describes an intervention protocol based on receptive music therapy and virtual reality. It is designed to be implemented in patients with advanced oncological disease receiving palliative care. The protocol involves a singular, systematized intervention that combines live music performance by the music therapist with the use of virtual reality headsets, simulating an open natural environment. The objective is to explore the effect of the intervention on prevalent symptoms in this population, including pain, fatigue, drowsiness, nausea, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, depression, anxiety, sleep, well-being, and heart rate.

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What was the impetus for writing the article?

The main motivation behind writing this article was to enable music therapists from around the world to replicate the intervention, as it provides all the necessary details, materials, procedures, and specific musical aspects. The journal places great emphasis on providing a meticulous description of the intervention, which is highly enriching for researchers and potential readers who might become future investigators seeking to replicate the study.

I believe that music therapists should learn to systematize their interventions and share them within the community to generate greater theoretical and practical knowledge based on evidence.

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What future research or areas of exploration would benefit the field and application of what was discussed in this article ?

The results of this study, along with discussions comparing it to previous articles, have the potential to benefit various fields related to music and medicine, ranging from music therapy and palliative care to engineering dedicated to virtual reality technology. The primary objective of applying this intervention is to collaborate in relieving symptoms for individuals facing life-threatening diseases, who experience complex physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs and challenges. It is a creative approach to finding alternative solutions for symptom management in the medical context.

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How do you think this article impacts the current understanding of music and medicine?

I consider this article as proposing a third field of knowledge related to technology, demonstrating how the combination of technology and music can further enhance the beneficial effects of music therapy in a medical setting. Furthermore, I believe that this intervention and methodological design could be applied to other populations to explore its effects. I hope that many music therapists are encouraged to take on this challenge.

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Table of Contents

Editorial

Weathering: Considering music’s potential role in addressing biopsychosocial stress

Joanne V. Loewy & Ralph Spintge

Full Length Articles

Who does what and why: Exploring the Music, Health and Wellbeing continuum

Alison Short & Jennifer MacRitchie

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Effects of a pilot therapeutic songwriting intervention on motivation in patients with severe hypercholesterolemia

Christopher Wodjak, Nathan Janaki, Geoffrey Williams, Cameron Coykendall, Scott McIntosh, Robert Bloch & Kelly Thevenet-Morrison

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Culturally diverse music creation as a prototype for effective intercultural collaboration in health care

Aaron Lightstone, Justin Gray & Bev Foster

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Physical Activity, Music and the Aging Brain – A Review

Frances Hendriëhetta Le Roux

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Music Therapy and Massage Therapy Co-Treatment in Pediatric Palliative Care: A Case Study

Jessica Bogacik, Brigid Pargeon,  Amanda Sonk, Alexa Economos, Samantha Engle, and Ben Reader

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Connecting through music: A systematic review of the use of music to reduce loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic

Rowena Cai, Gohar Zakaryan, Kevin Zhang, Rachael Finnerty

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Book review: Developing Issues in World Music Therapy Education and Training: A Plurality of Views

Karen D. Goodman, (Ed). by Teresa Lesiuk

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