PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to discern the effects of music therapy on the patients' level of anxiety and operative satisfaction during cataract surgery under local anesthesia.
METHOD
The subjects for this study were fifty patients. Half of the subjects were categorized as an experimental group and the other half as a control group. All of the subjects were admitted to one hospital in Seoul for cataract surgery. This study was conducted from September 7 to October 2, 2002. The level of anxiety determined by self-reporting anxiety, pulse rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure, was measured before and after the music therapy. The satisfaction degree was measured after the surgery. The tools for this study were Spilberger's state anxiety inventory and Patient Care Management System. Each patient in the experimental group chose the music used in his/her surgery and it was played through an audio system in the operating room. The data analysis was performed using the SAS/pc+(version 8.0).
RESULTS
1. The anxiety of the experimental group decreased significantly compared to the control group. 2. The pulse rate of the experimental group decreased more than the control group. 3. The blood pressure of the experimental group decreased more than the control group. 4. The operative satisfaction of the experimental group was higher than the control group.
CONCLUSION
According to the previous results, music therapy turned out to be a very efficient way to increase the satisfaction of a cataract patient after surgery by reducing the anxiety and the pulse rate of the patient during an operation with local anesthesia.