Hypnosis and music interventions for pain, anxiety, sleep, and well-being in palliative care: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Maintaining quality of life is a primary goal of palliative care (PC). Complementary interventions can help meet the needs of patients at the end of life. Objectives This meta-analysis aims to 1) evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity of music and hypnosis interventions designed for patients in PC; 2) evaluate the impact of these interventions on pain, anxiety, sleep, and well-being. Methods Relevant studies were sourced from major databases. We selected both randomised controlled trials (RCT) and studies relying on pre-post design with details of the intervention(s). Results Four RCT and seven non-randomised pre-post studies met the inclusion criteria. Overall, the feasibility and acceptability of the interventions reached an adequate level of satisfaction. However, only three studies reported using a written protocol. The meta-analysis of RCT indicated a significant decrease in pain with an effect size of -0.42, p = .003. The small number of RCT studies did not allow us to quantify the effects for other variables. Analyses of data from pre-post designs indicated a favourable outcome for pain, anxiety, sleep, and well-being. Conclusion Despite the limited number of studies included in our meta-analysis, hypnosis and music intervention in the context of PC shows promising results in terms of feasibility and acceptability, as well as improvements on pain, anxiety, sleep and well-being. The available studies are insufficient to compare the efficacy across interventions and assess the potential benefits of their combinations. These results underscore the importance of further research on well-described complementary interventions relying on hypnosis and music.