Korean J Health Promot KJHP Korean Journal of Health Promotion 2234-2141 2093-5676 Korean Society for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention 10.15384/kjhp.2017.17.2.119 Original Article Effects of Music Therapy on Subjective Stress Response, Salivary Cortisol, and Fatigue for Intensive Care Nurses Ji Hyun Hee 1 Jo Hyun Sook 2 Intensive Care Unit, Gil Hospital, Seoul, Korea. College of Nursing, Gachon University, Incheon, Korea. Corresponding author: Hyun Sook Jo, PhD. College of Nursing, Gachon University, 191 Hambangmoe-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21936, Korea. Tel: +82-32-820-4210, Fax: +82-32-820-4201, nackkun@hanmail.net 06 2017 30 06 2017 17 2 119 127 04 05 2017 25 06 2017 Copyright © 2017 Korean Society for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention 2017 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background

The purpose of this study was to verify the effects of music therapy on subjective stress response, salivary cortisol and fatigue for nurses working in intensive care unit (ICU).

 Methods

This study employed non-equivalent control group pretest–posttest design on quasi experimental basis. Subjects were 52 nurses (26 experimental and control group respectively) who have been working at ICU of Gil Hospital in Incheon, Korea. Data were collected from August 4 to October 6, 2014. Experimental group have listened to their 4-7 favorite musics individually once for 30 minutes after day-work.

 Results

In experimental group, subjective stress response (t=5.02, P<0.001), salivary cortisol (t=2.08, P=0.042), and fatigue (t=5.66, P<0.001) have decreased significantly comparing to the control group.

 Conclusions

This study has confirmed especially through objective physiological index of salivary cortisol that listening the favorite music for nurses in ICU was an effective and objective managerial measure to resolve their job stress and fatigue.

 Music therapy Nurses Stress physiological Cortisone Fatigue

This article is the condensed edition of Hyun Hee Ji's dissertation at College of Nursing, Gachon University.

 Ministry of Health and Welfare Ministry of health and welfare statistical yearbook 2016 (11-1352000-000137-10) Sejong Ministry of Health and Welfare 2016 12 13 Kim JS Kim CJ Association of job stress with health-promoting behaviors and health status in clinical nurses Korean J Occup Health Nurs 2016 25 4 311 319 Park HS Gang EH A study on job stress and the coping of ICU nurses J Korean Acad Nurs 2007 37 5 810 821 Park AS Kwon IS Cho YC Fatigue symptoms and related factors among general hospital nurse J Korea Acad Ind Coop Soc 2009 10 8 2164 2172 Bozovic D Racic M Ivkovic N Salivary cortisol level as a biological marker of stress reaction Med Arch 2013 67 5 374 377 Kim SH Bio markers for stress research Korean J Stress Res 2004 12 1 45 50 Moustaka E Maria M Constantinidis TC Measuring occupational stress and HRA axis dys regulation among healthy workers by salivary cortisol levels Br J Med Med Res 2015 6 11 1040 1051 Yoon GS Kim SY Influences of job stress and burn out on turnover intention of nurses J Korean Acad Nurs Adm 2010 16 4 507 516 Choi BC Music therapy Seoul Hakjisa 2003 Davis WB Thaut MH The influence of preferred relaxing music on measures of state anxiety, relaxation, and physiological response J Music Ther 1989 26 4 168 187 Jeong HC The effect of music therapy on the physiological and psychological status of women college students based on their preference of music J Korean Acad Adult Nurs 2008 20 2 321 330 Park HG Lee JY A meta-analysis of the music therapy research to reduce stress Korean J Music Ther 2014 16 1 29 47 Ahn MN Ahn HY The effects of music intervention on pain among critically ill patients with ventilatory support J Korean Biol Nurs Sci 2013 15 4 247 256 Bae YS The effects of music therapy in fatigue and anxiety in hemodialysis patients [dissertation] Busan Dongeui University 2009 Korean Choi HY Yi YJ Effects of music therapy on anxiety, depression and fatigue in cancer patients undergoing intensity modulated radiotherapy Asian Oncol Nurs 2013 13 4 175 183 Hong MS The effects of music therapy on patients with post operative pain J Korean Acad Adult Nurs 1989 1 1 57 71 Lee EH The effect of self-selected music listening on mood and stress change for last-stage cancer patients [dissertation] Seoul Myongji University 2010 Korean Park JH The effect of music therapy on anxiety and pain, vital sign, cortisol of elderly cataract surgical patients [dissertation] Incheon Gachon University 2014 Korean Seo EJ The effect of music therapy on the job stress and anxiety of the clinical nurse [dissertations] Asan Soonchunyang University 2009 Korean Marchand A Duran P Lupien S Work hour and cortisol variation from non-working to working days Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2013 86 5 553 559 Parker DF Decotiis TA Organizational determinants of job stress Organ Behav Hum Decis Process 1983 32 2 160 177 Kim SY Comparison of job as professionalism job satisfaction conflict involving performance of duty, job stress and burn-out [dissertation] Seoul Kyunghee University 2009 Korean Koh KB Park JK Kim CH Development of the stress response inventory J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc 2000 39 4 707 719 Lee S Suh M Exploring subjective stress, sleep and diurnal variation of salivary cortisol in korea female adult J Korean Biol Nurs Sci 2016 18 1 9 16 Kim SJ Sung MS Subjective symptoms in fatigue in hospital nurses J Korean Acad Nurs 1998 28 4 908 919 Thoma MV La Marca R Brönnimann R Finkel L Ehlert U Nater UM The effect of music on the human stress response PLoS One 2013 8 8 e70156 Seol KO The diurnal cortisol regulation rhythm and internalizing problems of children in institutive care and adopted children in Korea Korean J Dev Psychol 2012 25 3 73 87 Kim SY Kwon IS Cho YS Relationship between job stress and fatigue symptoms among nurses in a university hospital J Korea Acad Ind Coop Soc 2012 13 4 1759 1768 The genre of music preferred by experimental group (n=26)

Values are presented as number (%).

 Homogeneity test for general characteristics between experimental and control group (n=52)

Abbreviations: SD, standard variation; ICU, intensive care unit; MICU, medicine intensive care unit; SICU, surgery intensive care unit; NSICU, neuro surgery intensive care unit; HICU, heart surgery intensive care unit; TICU, trauma intensive care unit; NICU neonatal intensive care unit.

Values are presented as number (%) otherwise indicated.

aFisher's exact test.

 Homogeneity test for musical characteristics between experimental and control group (n=52)

Values are presented as number (%).

aFisher's exact test

 Homogeneity test for dependent variables between experimental and control group (n=52)

Values are presented as mean±standard variation.

 Difference test for subjective stress response, salivary cortisol (nmol/L) and fatigue between experimental and control group (n=52)

Values are presented as mean (standard variation).