音樂治療與兒童照護

Music Therapy and Child Care

音樂治療早已在國外施行多年，且對於臨床各種不同年齡層的病人有正向的影響。音樂能夠影響聆聽者生理與心理上的反應，包括生命徵象的改變、減輕焦慮、增加免疫力、降低可體松數值、減輕壓力與增加安適狀態，許多文獻顯示音樂治療為一經濟且有效的措施，可在臨床上推廣及運用。兒童因為受到本身認知與語言發展的限制，實施音樂治療的方式與成人不同且非常多樣化。然而，國內護理人員對音樂治療在臨床病患的運用仍顯缺乏，亦顯少運用在兒童的照護上。本文將介紹音樂治療及國內外音樂治療在早產兒、急診室兒童病患、身心障礙兒童與接受手術兒童等之成效。音樂治療常為臨床之輔助性療法，即使是無音樂背景之醫護人員亦可合適地執行某些音樂治療的活動，本文期望提供護理人員對音樂治療的認識及在兒童照護運用上的參考。

Music therapy was shown many years ago to have positive effects in various age groups of patients in the Western world. Music can produce physiological and psychological effects, including changes in the vital signs, reductions in anxiety, improvements in the immune system, decreases in cortisol levels, the reduction of stress and the promotion of well-being. Music therapy is an inexpensive and effective intervention for nurses to apply to patients. The application of such therapy to children, however, is different from that to adults due to their limited cognitive and language development. In Taiwan, nurses' knowledge of music therapy is limited, and it is rarely used in child care. This article introduces music therapy and its effects in child care, such as in premature infants, children in emergency care, handicapped children, and children receiving surgery. Music therapy is often used as an assisted intervention for patient care in clinical settings. Health care professionals can perform some of the music therapy activities for patients appropriately even if they have not been trained in music. This article aims to improve nurses' knowledge of music therapy and to provide a useful reference for those involved in child care.