Family-Centered Songwriting in Pediatric Palliative Care
Purpose
This study evaluates the feasibility and efficacy of a family-centered songwriting intervention for cognitively-impaired children referred to a palliative care service.
Condition
- Cognitive Impairment
Eligibility
- Eligible Ages
- Between 7 Years and 17 Years
- Eligible Genders
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- children ages 7-17 years - cognitive impairment (T-score of 40 or below on the PROMIS Parent-Proxy Cognitive Function) - receiving palliative/complex care - progressively declining disease - ability to hear. - parents 18 years of age and older - parent without cognitive impairment - parent able to speak/understand English
Exclusion Criteria
- None
Study Design
- Phase
- N/A
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- N/A
- Intervention Model
- Single Group Assignment
- Primary Purpose
- Supportive Care
- Masking
- None (Open Label)
Arm Groups
| Arm | Description | Assigned Intervention |
|---|---|---|
|
Experimental cognitively impaired children |
This is a single-group study; all participants will be offered the songwriting intervention. |
|
More Details
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- Vanderbilt University
Study Contact
Detailed Description
Music-based interventions have previously been shown to reduce psychological distress in children with life-threatening conditions. However, children with cognitive impairment are frequently excluded from these studies. Our study will evaluate the efficacy a family-centered songwriting intervention for the following outcomes: child psychological and physical symptoms, parent psychological distress, and family environment. Following recruitment, parent-child dyads will undergo 4 sessions with a licensed music therapist (anticipated to last 1 hour each). During these sessions, families and their children will select a song and engage in a songwriting process which includes various physiologic sounds from the child (i.e. heart rate, breathing). At the conclusion of these four sessions, a music DVD will be produced and delivered to the family.