The Effect of Music Therapy on Anxiety and Depression Levels of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: Randomized Controlled Study

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the effect of music therapy applied to hospitalized patients with the diagnosis of COVID-19 on hospital anxiety and depression levels of patients. Methods: This study was designed as a parallel randomized clinical trial. The study was conducted with patients (n = 54) hospitalized in the COVID-19 ward between May 2021 and September 2022. "Personal Information Form" and "Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale" were used to collect data. Music therapy was applied to the patients in the experimental group 30 minutes a day for 5 days. Chi-square test, t test for dependent-independent groups, and repeated-measures ANOVA were used to evaluate the data. Results: It was determined that there was no significant difference between the pre test and post test scale mean scores of the control group (P >,05). The post test anxiety and depression score averages of the experimental group that received music therapy were significantly lower than the control group (P <,001). It was found that music therapy was effective in reducing the anxiety scores of the patients by 76.6% and the depression scores by 79.9%. Conclusion: It has been determined that music therapy applied to hospitalized patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 reduces the hospital anxiety and depression levels of the patients.