Evans Holly E, Ralph Matthew, Jaaniste Tiina, Wakefield Claire E, Sansom-Daly Ursula M
Behavioural Sciences Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW Medicine and Health, Randwick Clinical Campus, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of New South Wales Sydney, Kensington, NSW 2031, Australia.
Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, NSW 2031, Australia.
Children (Basel). 2025 Jul 3;12(7):884. doi: 10.3390/children12070884.
Music therapy in paediatric palliative care offers a unique opportunity for emotional support, legacy creation, and therapeutic connection for children and their families. This paper describes the Heartbeats Intervention, as delivered by a paediatric palliative care music therapist at Sydney Children's Hospital Australia. This intervention involves recording and creatively integrating the heartbeats of children and family members into personalised musical compositions. Originally inspired by music therapist Brian Schreck's work, the intervention has evolved to meet diverse therapeutic goals, from soothing children with serious illnesses (including cancer) with recordings of their families' heartbeats to creating legacy song tracks that support families through bereavement. Despite some logistical and resource challenges, the intervention has been well-received and continues to expand, including the integration of environmental soundscapes and broader community involvement, which allows the intervention to be experienced by a greater number of families. This paper contributes to the limited but growing literature on music therapy in paediatric palliative care, highlighting the Heartbeats Intervention as a flexible and meaningful way to enhance psychosocial support and connection for children and their families. Further research to evaluate its long-term impact and to explore children's direct experiences of the intervention is needed.
音乐疗法在儿科姑息治疗中为儿童及其家庭提供了一个获得情感支持、创造遗产以及建立治疗性联系的独特机会。本文描述了由澳大利亚悉尼儿童医院的一名儿科姑息治疗音乐治疗师实施的“心跳干预”。该干预措施包括记录儿童及其家庭成员的心跳，并将其创造性地融入个性化音乐作品中。最初受到音乐治疗师布莱恩·施雷克工作的启发，该干预措施不断发展以满足不同的治疗目标，从用家人的心跳录音安抚患有重病（包括癌症）的儿童，到创作遗产歌曲曲目以帮助家庭度过丧亲之痛。尽管存在一些后勤和资源方面的挑战，但该干预措施受到了广泛欢迎并持续扩展，包括融入环境音景以及更广泛的社区参与，这使得更多家庭能够体验到该干预措施。本文为儿科姑息治疗中有限但不断增长的音乐疗法文献做出了贡献，强调“心跳干预”是一种灵活且有意义的方式，可增强儿童及其家庭的心理社会支持与联系。需要进一步开展研究以评估其长期影响，并探索儿童对该干预措施的直接体验。
