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My Heart Will Go On: Analyzing the Heartbeat Project as a Tool in Palliative and Bereavement Care (FR474)

2020; Elsevier BV; Volume: 59; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.12.177

1873-6513

Mary F. Cleveland, Kim Hamrick, Jasmine Vickers, Chao‐Hui Huang, Rodney Tucker,

Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health

•Explore the implementation of the heartbeat project in various palliative care settings.•Identify the potential benefits of the heartbeat project as a tool to assist with bereavement for adults and children who have lost a loved one.•Identify the implications of the heartbeat project to palliative care practice. The heartbeat project is a specialized form of legacy building for patients and families utilizing innovative technology in which the heartbeat of a patient, adult or neonate is recorded with a Bluetooth stethoscope and blended with a song that the patient and/or family indicates is meaningful. This innovative form of integrative and complementary therapy utilizes a board-certified music therapist who guides the patient and/or family through the therapeutic process of choosing the song(s) for this project. The process provides patients with the opportunity to have autonomy and focus on legacy building during their dying process. Family members can benefit from this intervention as it creates a space for them to express anticipatory grief. The music therapist then creates the requested music to the beat of heartbeat and uses a recording software to edit the song and deliver it to the families along with a visual copy of the patient's heart rhythms. The project, along with helping patients and families in end of life care, is useful in grief therapy as it provides a type of grief support to family members who have lost a loved one. UAB Music Therapists have partnered with palliative physicians, psychologists, nurses and administrators to begin groundbreaking research to quantitatively analyze the benefits of the heartbeat project on grief and bereavement outcomes. The heartbeat project builds a connection between patients and their loved ones even after death; it helps their heart, and legacy, to go on. This session will explain the current evidence base for music therapy and the heartbeat project and empower providers to enhance the quality of the comprehensive care they provide to their patients and families.