Management of Chronic Illness through Music Therapy: A Review

Chronic illnesses result in several undesirable physiological and psychological outcomes in patients which are seldom addressed in clinical settings. The transition from the biomedical model to the biopsychosocial model has led to the development of novel interventions for chronic illness management. Music therapy is a non-pharmacological intervention used to address patient needs in the aftermath of treatment. This review highlights the application of music therapy across chronic illnesses. Both, active and receptive music therapy have shown positive results across chronic illnesses; on physiological, physical and psychological parameters. The efficacy of music therapy interventions is enhanced when used in combination with other non-pharmacological interventions. However, contradictory results have also emerged and there is an urgent need to execute well-designed randomized studies with an adequate sample size to arrive at a definite conclusion.