How music therapy is perceived in a pediatric ambulatory chemotherapy unit in a Peruvian hospital: experience report

his reportpresents descriptions of how music therapy was perceived in a pediatric ambulatory chemotherapy unit. Thesedescriptions were collected throughinterviews with caregivers, hospital volunteers and members of the medical team to explore the interviewees’ experiences of the impactof music therapy interventions on the children, the hospital environment, the caregivers and the interviewees themselves.Twelve themes emerged from the interviewswith attention, enjoyment and relaxation beingthe keythemes to describethe benefits of music therapy.Between and during medical procedures, active and receptive music therapy interventions provided a supportive distraction from the challenging environment, therebyhelping the childrento better copewith the situation and providing possibilities to encourage social engagement and interactions. The music therapy interventions not only had a positive impact on the children, but also on the people around them and on the atmosphere of the hospital environment. Through music therapy, children’scooperation during medical procedures improved, which facilitated the staff in carrying out the procedures.These findings support music therapy as having an ability to create meaningful moments in an intense and high-tempo medical unit andcontribute to the child’s treatment process from a holistic perspective.