The research team set out to answer two questions. First, what are the perceptions of healthcare professionals regarding the personal benefits and clinical application of active and receptive music therapy in hospital settings? Second, how do those professionals rate the implementation and continued use of music therapy in their workplace? To explore this, the investigators used an exploratory descriptive design, a naturalistic qualitative approach that studies people’s experiences in their natural social and cultural context and aims to produce a comprehensive, accurate descriptive summary of an everyday event. Rather than asking clinicians what they thought about music therapy in the abstract, the study privileged the voice of professionals loaded with self-reflective constructions formed through direct experience.

Twenty-two healthcare professionals took part, recruited through convenience sampling and a snowballing technique in which early participants brought colleagues into the study. Every professional invited accepted, and none withdrew. The sample included eight doctors, two medical intern residents, ten nurses, and two auxiliary care nursing technicians, drawn from hospital units characterised by high emotional exposure and demanding care loads: paediatrics, gynaecology, internal medicine, psychiatry, adult oncology, and the neonatal intensive care unit. Most had worked in healthcare for eleven to twenty years, ages ranged from twenty-five to sixty, and twelve participants were women and ten were men. All came from public and private hospitals in the province of Alicante, and all signed informed consent after being told they could withdraw without negative consequences.

Data collection relied on two focus groups of eleven professionals each, a technique the authors chose because group interaction can produce deep and consistent knowledge about a phenomenon and stimulates self-explanation. Each session lasted approximately 150 minutes and unfolded in three phases of roughly 50 minutes. In the first phase, a thematic guide probed participants’ existing knowledge of music, music therapy, and art therapy, asking whether they had musical training or played instruments and what music therapy meant to them. The sessions were moderated by an accredited male music therapist, with an experienced female qualitative researcher acting as assistant moderator, probing questions, observing group interaction, and taking field notes. No other individuals were present.

The second phase was the experiential core of the study. Participants listened to recorded songs and live renditions performed on digital piano and saxophone, spanning pieces from AC/DC’s Back in Black to Beethoven’s Adagio from Quasi una fantasia and Celia Cruz’s Bemba Colora. They then improvised with percussion instruments, including tambourine, maracas, güiro, djembe, bongo, and claves, through question-and-answer and free improvisation exercises. They sang together, performing John Lennon’s Imagine and Marc Anthony’s Vivir mi Vida, and improvised with their voices by singing their own names. The session closed with a relaxation activity preceded by a breathing technique, followed by a slow live piano improvisation in the keys of E-flat and G. The design followed a multimodal music therapy approach, integrating active and receptive techniques so participants could individually evaluate each one and differentiate the emotional, cognitive, and social effects of active techniques such as singing and improvisation from receptive techniques such as listening.

In the third phase, participants watched video content of music therapy interventions carried out in healthcare fields and then discussed the applicability of music therapy in clinical practice. All sessions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The researchers analysed the transcripts using manifest qualitative content analysis, an inductive approach that focuses on describing what is observable in a text rather than interpreting meaning, organised through four stages: decontextualisation, recontextualisation, categorisation, and compilation. Two authors coded the data independently with MAXQDA software, and a third researcher compared codes to refine themes, with differences resolved through consensus meetings. Transcripts were shared with participants for validation, and the analysis followed COREQ guidelines alongside the reliability criteria of credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability. Data saturation was judged to have been reached when no new codes or themes emerged during analysis of the second focus group.

The analysis yielded two main themes and five subthemes. The first theme, perceived benefits and clinical application of music therapy, captured the personal and emotional effects professionals experienced after the techniques. Music listening facilitated introspection and the evocation of autobiographical memories, with participants reporting happiness, sadness, nostalgia, hope, empowerment, calm, and wellbeing. One participant said the first song made them feel sadness and nostalgia, the second joy, and the third put them in a realistic and positive mood towards the future. Another described how music made them stop and reflect on experiences they rarely think about, bringing back personal memories and helping them recognise emotions they usually set aside during daily work. A participant who sang reported that the activity allowed them to express their feelings and changed their mood positively, while another said singing a particular song transported them back to their childhood with their parents, a very pleasant feeling.

Active techniques left their own distinct imprint. Improvisation with percussion instruments was perceived as an opportunity to reduce mental tension, promote attention to the present moment, and strengthen interaction with colleagues, with participants emphasising the shared process over the musical outcome. One professional described playing as giving a sense of mental calm and the ability to connect with colleagues through rhythm. Singing evoked memories and strengthened the sense of belonging to the group, with one participant reporting feelings of camaraderie so strong that at times they felt like crying with joy. Relaxation accompanied by music promoted calm and reduced tension, leading one participant to call music therapy a very appropriate complement that could help patients considerably in terms of relaxation. The overall evaluation of the session was positive, with participants describing gratitude, reflection, satisfaction, introspection, and a sense of connecting with their inner selves. One participant said the experience made them realise they were stronger than they thought and left feeling able to face challenges that had seemed overwhelming before.

The second theme addressed implementation and continued use in hospital settings. Participants described music therapy as a therapeutic tool that allows the emotional states of patients to be reviewed, something that can be difficult for direct support staff to access, and as a complementary intervention that may facilitate a broader understanding of patients’ emotional needs and promote more holistic, patient-centred care. All professionals rated implementation in their hospital setting as positive, saying it would help them better understand some psychosocial needs of patients, including how patients feel about their illness and how they cope with stressful moments during their stay. Participants also considered that music therapy could dissipate tension and create a more relaxed working environment for patients, families, and professionals, strengthen interpersonal relationships and communication, improve job performance, and change the state of mind of healthcare workers in ways favouring personal and professional development. Nuances emerged by role: nurses and auxiliary technicians most frequently highlighted immediate emotional support and wellbeing, physicians valued potential improvements in patient care and communication, and professionals in high emotional load units such as intensive care and oncology tended to report more intense emotional responses, though the authors caution these differences are not generalisable patterns.

Implementation, participants agreed, depends on more than professional acceptance. Several indicated that support from hospital management would be required to mobilise resources, recognise the importance of music therapy, and disseminate the usefulness of these interventions, with one professional calling for changes in the organisation of hospital centres in terms of mentality and awareness among both management and staff. Participants also insisted that interventions be performed by qualified music therapists so techniques are appropriate and tailored to each individual patient, with one stating there must be a good professional behind the technique to give each patient what they need. The authors note important limitations: the study involved professionals from a single Spanish province, the sample comprised mainly women, and the experiential nature of the intervention, with perceptions shared immediately after the session, may have positively influenced views. The findings reflect perceptions and experiences, not demonstrated clinical effects on patients or quality of care, but they provide a useful qualitative basis for future research evaluating music therapy through designs that also examine its clinical and organisational effects.

Subject of Research: Healthcare professionals' perceptions of active and receptive music therapy in hospital settings

Article Title: Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions of the Impact of Active and Receptive Music Therapy and Its Continued Use in Hospital Settings

Article References: Rodríguez, R.-C. R., Peña, A. N., Bixquert, T. C., de Dios, J. G., & Ruiz, C. S. (2026). Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions of the Impact of Active and Receptive Music Therapy and Its Continued Use in Hospital Settings. Nursing Open, 13(10), Article e70934. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.70934

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1002/nop2.70934

Keywords: music therapy, healthcare professionals, hospital settings, qualitative research, focus groups, emotional wellbeing, active music therapy, receptive music therapy, Spain, humanisation of care, implementation, Healthcare