Music interventions lowered distress scores in hospitalized children
This brief uses only the review's abstract, which reports lower anxiety, fear and pain scores but substantial variation between trials.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Music interventions were associated with lower anxiety, fear and pain scores after treatment in hospitalized children. The pooled findings suggest a possible role in supportive care, but effects varied across studies. The abstract does not establish which music approach works best, how long any benefit lasts or how it compares with a specific alternative.
The studies showed moderate to high variation in results. The abstract omits comparator details, intervention durations and participant totals, limiting assessment of the size and applicability of the pooled effects.
What researchers found
Anxiety: standardized mean difference
Post-intervention anxiety versus unspecified trial comparators. Standard-deviation units reflect score variability; negative means lower anxiety, not a percentage change.
Understanding the standardized difference
The estimate places the anxiety score difference on a common scale of standard deviations: units based on how widely scores vary. Its negative sign means lower anxiety with music, rather than a raw questionnaire-point change.
What safety reporting means
No adverse effects were reported in the included studies. That is a reporting result, not proof that every music intervention is risk-free; the abstract gives no details about how harms were monitored.
The original publication
The effect of music interventions on anxiety, fear, and pain in hospitalized children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Çıtak EA, Demir K, Kılıçarslan E
J Pediatr Nurs · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41240791
- Record checked
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