Environmental music delivery in the clinical setting foremployee and patient wellbeing: Reflections, challenges andlearnings for music therapy.

Abstract

Background: Demand for Music Therapy (MT) services to support employee wellbeing has continued growing at Monash Health. In 2023, Adult MT were directed to implement an intensive environmental music intervention on a subacute hospital ward over a two-week period in response to an urgent request from site management regarding complex ward dynamics, low staff morale and distress. Despite a positive impact, MT clinicians reported increased stress and overwhelm delivering this whilst continuing to respond to service demands across the site with reduced resources. Aims: To explore the experiences of MTs delivering daily live environmental music in a shared clinical environment to address staff and patient wellbeing needs to improve future MT management of similar requests. To increase knowledge and understandings of environmental music delivery in clinical settings, to inform approaches to clinical and non-clinical practice. Methods: The four MT clinicians involved in the program delivery participated in a one hour informal debrief session, facilitated by the profession lead. The operational manager and broader department research lead also attended. Participant responses were summarised into four categories: what worked well, challenges and barriers, learnings, and recommendations. Results: Key themes that emerged from partipcants’ responses largely related to challenges and barriers experienced. These included: minimal consultation, collaboration, and preparation time; different understandings, interpretations and approaches to environmental music delivery; devaluing of the clinical service; and resource intensity. Key themes around learnings and recommendations related to scope of practice and clinical skills required; developing a shared mental model; and delineation of clinical services versus well-being services. Conclusion: Developing consensus amongst MT clinicians of what environmental music delivery in clinical settings looks like is needed. Engaging in broader professional practice discussions and referring to the emergent literature on this topic will support this. Clarity around what constitutes clinical MT services compared with MT wellbeing services is important to ensure service sustainability.