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In June last year, the Limburg University Fund, in collaboration with Marie-José Dols (Head Nurse ICU MUMC+) and Dr Ruud Segers (Pulmonologist-Intensivist MUMC+), submitted an application to the Vaillant Fund to continue the pilot project MuzIC: Live Music in the Intensive Care Unit. And with success! Thanks to this support, the innovative intervention can now be implemented, with the hope of it becoming a permanent fixture in the future. Fortunately, there is funding available once again this year to continue MuzIC at MUMC+ in Maastricht.
Each year, around 80,000 patients are admitted to ICU departments in the Netherlands. The MUMC+ care team is on hand day and night to provide the best possible medical treatment. This also means offering as much comfort and personal care as possible. A live music session, delivered personally by professional musicians, fits perfectly with the belief that alongside excellent medical care, we should also pay attention to the person behind the patient.
Restlessness and anxiety are unfortunately common emotions in the ICU. Music can help to ease these feelings and often leads to a reduced need for pain medication and sedation. Live music adds another layer of value through the direct interaction between the musicians, the patient, and their loved ones.
Watch the video for a fuller impression of this inspiring initiative.
A research proposal is currently awaiting approval to measure and analyse the effects of the project. This is being done in collaboration with Maastricht University. The vital parameters in particular are of great interest: what effects does live music in the ICU have on heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, among other things? There will also be questionnaires for healthcare professionals, family members, and—where possible—the patient themselves, in order to collect and interpret their experiences. Medical student Anastacia Leurquin hopes this research will further highlight the value of MuzIC and help embed the project more permanently within MUMC+.
“Our next step is to make live music available across the wards and not limit it solely to the Intensive Care Unit.”
– Drs. Ruud Segers, Pulmonologist-Intensivist, MUMC+