Development of an electronic system for self/proxy symptom tracking alongside children with cancer and their caregivers: a co-design exemplar.

Purpose: Symptom tracking systems are essential for identifying symptoms in patients, prompting timely clinical intervention to reduce suffering and improve outcomes for children with cancer. Electronic patient-reported outcome tools have been designed to assess the presence and severity of symptoms and notify clinicians of the patient's condition, facilitating quick and effective symptom management. Utilizing co-design methods allows end user input in the tool development process.

Military veterans' perspectives on using music to manage chronic pain: themes from the feasibility and acceptability of music imagery and listening interventions for analgesia study.

Introduction: Chronic pain conditions are common in military veterans, often leading to disability, psychological distress and high healthcare utilization. An interdisciplinary approach, informed by a biopsychosocial model, is recommended for patients with chronic pain. Music-based interventions have shown improvements in patients with pain, but results are inconsistent and most studies have concentrated on acute pain and in-person delivery.

Reporting guidelines for music-based interventions checklist: Explanation and elaboration guide.

Background: Detailed intervention reporting is essential to interpretation, replication, and eventual translation of music-based interventions (MBIs) into practice. Despite availability of (RG-MBI, published 2011), multiple reviews reveal sustained problems with reporting quality and consistency. To address this, we convened an interdisciplinary expert panel to update and improve the utility and validity of the existing guidelines using a rigorous Delphi approach.

Who benefits from active music engagement during cancer treatment? Associations of sociodemographic characteristics and risk factors with moderators of intervention effects.

Young children and their parents experience frequent and repeated exposure to potentially traumatic events during treatment for cancer. Active Music Engagement (AME) is a dyadic music therapy intervention that has been found to mitigate traumatic stress symptoms among parents who screened high for traumatic stress symptoms (TSS) and reported higher levels of child distress with cancer-related hospitalizations/treatment (child distress). The current study examined sociodemographic characteristics and risk factors that were associated with higher levels of parent TSS and child distress as a means to identify families that may benefit most from AME in the future.

Reporting guidelines for music-based interventions: An update and validation study.

Background: Detailed intervention reporting is essential to interpretation, replication, and translation of music-based interventions (MBIs). The 2011 were developed to improve transparency and reporting quality of published research; however, problems with reporting quality persist.

Methods: The purpose of this study was to update and validate the 2011 reporting guidelines using rigorous Delphi approach that involved an interdisciplinary group of MBI researchers; and to develop an explanation and elaboration guidance statement to support dissemination and usage.

Reporting Guidelines for Music-based Interventions checklist: explanation and elaboration guide.

Background: Detailed intervention reporting is essential to interpretation, replication, and eventual translation of Music-based Interventions (MBIs) into practice. Despite availability of (RG-MBI, published 2011), multiple reviews reveal sustained problems with reporting quality and consistency. To address this, we convened an interdisciplinary expert panel to update and improve the utility and validity of the existing guidelines using a rigorous Delphi approach.

Reporting Guidelines for Music-based Intervention: an update and validation study.

Background: Detailed intervention reporting is essential to interpretation, replication, and translation of music-based interventions (MBIs). The 2011 were developed to improve transparency and reporting quality of published research; however, problems with reporting quality persist. This represents a significant barrier to advances in MBI scientific research and translation of findings to practice.

Attributes of Pediatric Music Therapists: A Qualitative Analysis of Parent Descriptions.

Therapist attributes are known to contribute to positive therapeutic outcomes and are important to effective training and clinical practice. Although well researched in psychology and play therapy, few studies have directly explored music therapist attributes. To explore and understand these descriptions, we conducted a secondary analysis of parent interview data from a multisite trial investigating a music therapist-delivered intervention for young children with cancer and their parents.

Validation of the Abbreviated PTSD Checklist-Civilian as a Traumatic Stress Screener for Parents of Children With Cancer.

Researchers and clinicians often use the six-item abbreviated Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian (PCL-6) for screening; however, the PCL-6 has not been validated for parents of children with cancer. A valid and reliable short screener like the PCL-6 would allow bedside and/or advanced practice nurses to quickly screen parents for traumatic stress and expedite referrals for support services. This study used data collected during a multisite trial examining an intervention for children with cancer and their parents.

Telehealth Engaged Music for Pain Outcomes: A Music and Imagery Proof-of-concept Study with Veterans.

Music therapy interventions target biopsychosocial outcomes and are a non-pharmacological option for integrated pain management. To date, most music and pain studies have focused on acute pain, passive music experiences, and in-person delivery. The purpose of this study was to examine feasibility and acceptability and determine proof-of-concept for a newly developed telehealth music imagery (MI) intervention for Veterans with chronic pain.

Shifting perspectives and transformative change: Parent perspectives of an active music engagement intervention for themselves and their child with cancer.

Background: Children with cancer (ages 3-8 years) and their parents experience significant, interrelated distress associated with cancer treatment. Active music engagement (AME) uses music-based play and shared music-making to mitigate this distress. To advance our understanding about how AME works and its essential features, we interviewed parents who received the AME intervention as part of a multi-site mechanistic trial.

Mediators and Moderators of Active Music Engagement to Reduce Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Improve Well-being in Parents of Young Children With Cancer.

Objective: This trial examined the effects of proximal/distal mediators and moderators of an Active Music Engagement (AME) intervention on young child/parent distress, quality of life, and family function outcomes.

Methods: Child/parent dyads (n = 125) were randomized to AME or Audio-storybooks attention control condition. Each group received 3 sessions with a credentialed music therapist for 3 consecutive days with data collection at baseline, post-intervention (T2), and 30-days later (T3).

Spirituality in Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis.

Despite an increased focus on the importance of spirituality to human health, including adolescent health outcomes there remains an absence of evidence-based programs to address the spiritual needs of patients and families. A critical barrier is the absence of a clear conceptual understanding and operational definitions of spirituality for adolescents/young adults (AYAs) with cancer. The purposes of this concept analysis were to (a) clarify the concept of spirituality in the context of the AYAs' cancer experience and (b) generate a definition based on a review of the literature examining spiritual development and the role of spirituality in AYAs' health and cancer treatment.

Rapid implementation of Veterans Health Administration telehealth creative arts therapies: survey evaluation of adoption and adaptation.

Background: Creative arts therapies (CAT) are employed throughout the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and are predominantly delivered in-person. Though telehealth delivery of CAT was used at several VHA facilities to increase services to rural Veterans, due to guidance from the Center for Disease Control and VHA that temporarily suspended or reduced in-person services, there was a large increase of CAT therapists enterprise-wide who adopted telehealth delivery. The aims of this study were to evaluate adoption and adaptation of CAT telehealth delivery and identify related barriers and facilitators.

Protocol and biomarker strategy for a multi-site randomized controlled trial examining biological mechanisms and dosing of active music engagement in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma and parents.

Background: Music therapy is a standard palliative care service in many pediatric and adult hospitals; however, most research has focused on the use of music to improve psychosocial dimensions of health, without considering biological dimensions. This study builds on prior work examining psychosocial mechanisms of action underlying an Active Music Engagement (AME) intervention, designed to help manage emotional distress and improve positive health outcomes in young children with cancer and parents (caregivers), by examining its effects on biomarkers of stress and immune function.

Methods: This two-group randomized controlled trial (R01NR019190) is designed to examine biological mechanisms of effect and dose-response relationships of AME on child/parent stress during the consolidation phase of Acute B- or T-cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma (TLyLy) treatment.

Implementing NIH Behavior Change Consortium Treatment Fidelity Recommendations in a Multi-Site Randomized Controlled Trial of an Active Music Engagement Intervention for Young Children with Cancer and Parents.

Treatment fidelity is the use of methodological strategies to monitor and enhance reliability and validity of behavioral intervention trials. Despite availability of guidelines and checklists, treatment fidelity remains underreported, hindering evaluation, interpretation, and cross-study comparisons. Treatment fidelity is particularly important for music interventions given the inherent complexity of musical stimuli and flexibility required for tailored delivery.

Feasibility and Acceptability of Music Imagery and Listening Interventions for Analgesia: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Chronic pain and access to care are identified as critical needs of the Veterans Health Administration. Music imagery and music listening interventions have shown promise as effective nonpharmacological options for pain management. However, most studies have focused on acute pain, passive music experiences, and in-person delivery.

Music Therapy for Children with Oncology & Hematological Conditions and Their Families: Advancing the Standards of Psychosocial Care.

Diagnosis and treatment of cancer and blood disorders in childhood, adolescence and young adulthood has a significant impact on patients and families. The Psychosocial Standards of Care project, initiated in 2012, resulted in 15 Psychosocial Standards (PSS) that guide the care patients and families receive throughout treatment. As members of the multidisciplinary psychosocial care team, music therapists play an important role in the advancing the PSS.

Randomized Clinical Trial of a Self-care and Communication Intervention for Parents of Adolescent/Young Adults Undergoing High-Risk Cancer Treatment: A Report From the Children's Oncology Group.

Background: Parents of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer offer primary support to their children and often experience their own high levels of distress, affecting parent-AYA communication and quality of life.

Objective: To reduce parent distress and improve communication during high-risk cancer treatment, we examined efficacy of a self-care and communication intervention for parents and indirect benefit for AYAs receiving a therapeutic music video (TMV) intervention.

Methods: In this study, we conducted a multisite, randomized controlled trial with AYAs and parents enrolled as dyads (n = 110).

Visiting Scholars Program to enhance career development among early-career KL2 investigators in Clinical and Translational Science: Implications from a quality improvement assessment.

CTSI Career Development Award (KL2) programs provide junior faculty with protected time and multidisciplinary, mentored research training in clinical and translational science research. The was developed to promote collaborative cross-CTSA training, leverage academic strengths at host CTSAs, and support the career development of participating scholars through experiential training and the development of new partnerships. This manuscript provides a detailed programmatic description and reports outcomes from post-visit and outcomes surveys.

Active Music Engagement and Cortisol as an Acute Stress Biomarker in Young Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patients and Caregivers: Results of a Single Case Design Pilot Study.

This paper reports the results of a single case design pilot study of a music therapy intervention [the Active Music Engagement (AME)] for young children (age 3.51 to 4.53 years) undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCST) and their caregivers.

Music Therapist Experiences of a Randomized Controlled Trial as Clinician Researchers.

Music therapy clinicians bring an important perspective to the design and conduct of clinically meaningful studies. Unfortunately, there continue to be roadblocks that hinder clinician involvement in research and the development of successful partnerships between academic researchers and practicing clinicians. To help grow clinician involvement, it is important that research teams share their experiences.