Hospital Sant Joan de Déu brings music therapy to the homes of its youngest patients

The Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, in Barcelona, has started using the music therapy at home in the seriously ill children that threaten or limit their lives and in others with complex chronic diseases that require palliative care. It is the first time that a similar project has been carried out in Catalonia, with the intention of promote the well-being of these children, make it easier for them to interact with their parents, and help a study in which it is analyzed what is the impact of music therapy in the little ones and their families: if it can help normalize their lives, experience moments of significant vitality, strengthen the family bond…

Startup

Every day, a music therapist from l‘Resso Association, an entity that has been collaborating with the Hospital since 2005, offering music therapy to its admitted patients, is going to visit the home of two children who suffer from a serious or complex chronic illness. Once there, do a 45 minute session in which they sing songs or play different musical instruments. Before starting and after, the different data are collected with the intention of assessing the impact of the activities on the well-being of the family (both adults and children). In the study, 24 months Some 75 patients from the Hospital will participate.

This start-up would not have been possible without the help of the Anita Charity Association, a non-profit entity that was promoted by a family and friends of a girl who died of cancer. The objective of the association is research childhood cancer, especially germ cell tumors, and the welfare and care of affected children.

The Sant Joan de Déu Hospital treats 350 children in need of palliative care per year. Of these, 2 out of 3 suffer from serious illnesses with which they could die in infancy and the rest are children with complex chronic diseases.