Music Therapy and Paediatric Chronic Pain: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Chronic pain in the paediatric population is a complex and multi-faceted condition. Prevalent types of chronic pain reported in childhood include headaches, visceral pain and musculoskeletal pain. The purpose of this scoping review was to discover what is known from current literature about the effectiveness of music therapy used as a therapeutic intervention for children with chronic pain. The Arksey & O’Malley scoping review methodological framework and the guidance for conducting systematic scoping reviews provided by the Joanna Briggs Institute were followed to conduct this review. A total of five publications were included in this review. Texts discuss music therapy interventions and the current geographical locations where music therapy is incorporated into integrative medicine and rehabilitation programmes for paediatric chronic pain. All studies encourage further research within the area. Several gaps have been outlined that allude to further research of music therapy and/or music medicine for paediatric chronic pain internationally and the effectiveness of group music therapy as an intervention for the treatment paediatric chronic pain.