Effect of Music Therapy on the Psychological Well-Being of Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients: A Retrospective Study.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the management effect of music therapy on the psychological health of patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD), with focus on improving levels of depression, anxiety and stress.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of clinical data was conducted for 218 patients with sleep disorders accompanied by hemodialysis (HD) from January 2020 to December 2023. The subjects were categorized into a control group comprising 122 cases and an observational group comprising 96 cases. The observation group received music therapy in addition to routine management for 3 months. The psychological health status of patients was assessed using the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Hemodialysis Stressor Scale (HSS), among other indicators. t Tests, χ2 test and Wilcoxon test were performed.

Results: After 3 months, the SDS and SAS scores of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The scores for the "psychological stressors," "physiological stressors" and "social stressors" dimensions of HSS were also significantly lower in the observation group compared with those in the control group (P < 0.05). The overall satisfaction rate of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group (96.88% vs. 88.52%, P = 0.022).

Conclusion: Music therapy exerted a positive effect on improving the psychological health of HD patients, particularly in reducing stress levels. This study provides clinical evidence for music therapy as a low-cost and effective adjunctive treatment.