Pediatric music therapy in the United States: A subsequent inquiry

Abstract

Objective: Music therapy is a credentialed and established allied health profession with increasing prevalence in medical settings across the United States. The field is evidence-based, guided by research and best practice, and music therapy clinicians collaborate inter-professionally to support patients and families during hospitalization. Pediatric music therapists are uniquely situated to improve patient and family care and positively impact the hospital experience. This cross-sectional survey focused on capturing current trends in pediatric music therapy, comparing current data with previously captured data, identifying unique clinical needs of pediatric music therapists; and providing guidance for current clinical considerations.
Methods: The REDCap survey yielded 84 responses (n = 84) from pediatric music therapists. Survey data were analyzed using a modified exploratory sequential mixed methods design, incorporating an initial data review, followed by an inductive qualitative analysis, and concluding with a quantitative phase. The approach was selected to provide a comprehensive understanding of current trends in pediatric music therapy, allowing for comparisons with findings from a previous survey, identification of unique clinical needs, and the development of insights to inform current clinical practice considerations.
Results: The analyzed data showed significant trends within the pediatric music therapy workforce. The comparison between the previous survey conducted in 2020 and the results from 2023 shows that the demand for music therapy services continues, particularly in the clinical areas of emotional support, coping, rehabilitation, palliative care, and pain management. The data suggest that clarifying career progression opportunities, improving institutional backing, and addressing workload distribution could play a pivotal role in therapist retention and long-term service effectiveness.
Conclusions: Music therapists, creative arts therapists, and hospital administrators can use this data to understand resource allocation better and continue growth and support of music therapy within their respective facilities.

Keywords

Benchmarking / Pediatric music therapy / Workforce survey

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Pediatric Work Group members who provided support during design and implementation of the study included Mark Fuller, MM, MT-BC and Stephanie Epstein, MM, MT-BC. This work was informed by earlier efforts of past work group members David Knott, MM, MT-BC, Kristen E. Nelson, MA, MT-BC and Della Molloy-Dougherty Phd, MT-BC. Additional statistical analysis was provided by Joe Hagan, PhD.

AUTHORS CONTRIBUTIONS

M.B wrote the initial draft of the article, took place in all re-submissions, and secured funding for open access and publication. C.C. created all Tables, majority of Figures, and took place in authorship and all re-submissions. C.K. provided all qualitative analysis, expanded the Figures, and took place in all authorship and re-submissions.

FUNDING

This study was not sponsored by any entity. There was no honorarium, grant, or other form of payment given to anyone in the production of the manuscript.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST DISCLOSURE

The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.

INFORMED CONSENT

Obtained.

ETHICAL STATEMENT

This study was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and written informed consent obtained from all the participants. The protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Baylor College of Medicine (H-52633) on 12/6/2022-10/26/2027. Clinical trial registration was waived because this study does not meet the definition of an Applicable Clinical Trial.

ETHICS APPROVAL

The Publication Ethics Committee of the Sciedu Press. The journal’s policies adhere to the Core Practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

PROVENANCE AND PEER REVIEW

Not commissioned; externally double-blind peer reviewed.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The datasets generated during this study are available in the Journal of Hospital Administration repository at [DOI Link]. Data are also available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

DATA SHARING STATEMENT

No additional data are available.

OPEN ACCESS

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

COPYRIGHTS

Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal.

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