Pool Jonathan W, Magee Wendy L, Siegert Richard J, Wood Claire L
Cambridge Institute for Music Therapy Research, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Boyer College of Music and Dance, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Front Psychol. 2025 May 6;16:1441178. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1441178. eCollection 2025.
Severe brain injuries in children and young people can result in disorders of consciousness. This can pose significant challenges for the brain injury survivor as they may struggle to show awareness; for their family, who want to help their child to recover consciousness; and for the team providing treatment and care for them, who need an assessment that will inform optimal treatment and care planning. Currently, there is a paucity of fully validated behavioral tools to assess consciousness in 2-18-year-olds. Assessing awareness across this age range is challenging and complex due to neurodevelopmental changes that occur during maturation. This study evaluated the face validity of a music-based behavioral assessment for children and young people with disorders of consciousness. This is known as the Music therapy Sensory Instrument for Cognition, Consciousness and Awareness (MuSICCA). The study recruited 20 participants to compose a mixed cohort of music therapists, non-music therapy healthcare professionals and family members with lived experience of caring for a child or young person with a disorder of consciousness. These participants reviewed the MuSICCA and evaluated its suitability as an assessment of consciousness for use with children and young people. They provided feedback by rating their level of agreement with two statements and they also described the perceived strengths and limitations of the MuSICCA. The results showed substantial agreement among raters that the MuSICCA appears to be an assessment of consciousness and awareness, and that the MuSICCA appears to be suitable for use with children and young people. Its strengths include being rigorous, comprehensive, providing guidance and opportunity for caregiver involvement, its use of salience in stimulation, and its utility in supporting the wider clinical and care teams. The findings suggest that the MuSICCA may be a valuable assessment tool in providing treatment and care for children and young people with disorders of consciousness and their families.
儿童和青少年的严重脑损伤可能导致意识障碍。这对脑损伤幸存者来说可能构成重大挑战，因为他们可能难以表现出意识；对他们想要帮助孩子恢复意识的家人来说也是如此；对于为他们提供治疗和护理的团队而言，他们需要一种评估来为最佳治疗和护理计划提供依据。目前，缺乏经过充分验证的行为工具来评估2至18岁儿童的意识。由于在成熟过程中发生的神经发育变化，在这个年龄范围内评估意识具有挑战性且复杂。本研究评估了一种基于音乐的行为评估对有意识障碍的儿童和青少年的表面效度。这就是所谓的音乐治疗认知、意识和觉知感官工具（MuSICCA）。该研究招募了20名参与者，组成了一个混合队列，其中包括音乐治疗师、非音乐治疗医疗专业人员以及有照顾有意识障碍儿童或青少年亲身经历的家庭成员。这些参与者对MuSICCA进行了审查，并评估了其作为评估儿童和青少年意识的适用性。他们通过对与两条陈述的同意程度进行评分来提供反馈，还描述了他们所认为的MuSICCA的优点和局限性。结果显示，评分者之间存在很大程度的共识，即MuSICCA似乎是一种对意识和觉知的评估，并且MuSICCA似乎适用于儿童和青少年。其优点包括严谨、全面、为照顾者参与提供指导和机会、在刺激中使用显著性以及在支持更广泛的临床和护理团队方面的效用。研究结果表明，MuSICCA可能是为有意识障碍的儿童和青少年及其家庭提供治疗和护理的一种有价值的评估工具。
