Åbo Akademi University, Department of Caring Science
ALENIUS-KARLSSON NANNY: The music touches the human being
– An explatory study of the patient´s experience of music.
Master's thesis, 97 pages, 7 appendixes
Supervisor: Assistant Professor Unni Å. Lindström
February 1995
Key words: Music and Nursing, Music and Care, Music Therapy
The purpose of this study is to examine if the Musical Human Being
(Björkvold, 1991) still exists although the human being has become a patient
and if in longterm-care it would be possible to use classical music to enhance
the patient´s physical activity, to affect the patient´s health and strengthen the
wellbeing as well as touch the patient´s spiritual dimension in order to reach
the Musical Human Being.
Research about music as an intervention within the caritative care were none.
Within the area of music therapy, nine researches were found.
The study was conducted as a case-study. The collection of data was carried
out through direct observation and dialogue. The informants were seven female
patients within the longterm-care. Six of these patients´ age range from 82 to
94 years, one patient was 43 years of age.
The respondent meets the patients on six occasions. During three of these
occasions music is played, which is believed to affect the physical activity, the
spiritual existential dimension and the wellbeing and the spiritual religious
dimension. During one of these occasions the patients can choose the music
from a given selection.
The results show that:
The music touches the Unitary Human Being, but most of all the spiritual
dimension is affected. By using music the Unitary Human Being can be
reached. The kind of music played does not seem to be of consequence, the
perception of music is a total experience. Sound, rhythm and movement in the
music affect the patient. The music reaches memories, good as well as bad.