From silence to song: Facilitating emotional expression in palliative cancer care through guided singing exercises
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a composite psychosocial intervention centered on guided singing intervention (GSI) combined with mindfulness meditation and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) elements in palliative cancer care. Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, 200 adult oncology patients were assigned to an experimental group (n = 100; GSI+mindfulness+CBT plus usual care) or a control group (n = 100; usual care) over 8 weeks. Planned follow-ups were scheduled at 3, 6, and 12 months (T3, T4, T5). Outcomes included emotional expression and suppression scale, GAD-7, PHQ-9, VAS, WHOQOL-BREF, salivary cortisol, and singing self-efficacy scale. Results: Compared with controls, the experimental group showed significantly greater improvements in emotional externalization, anxiety/depression reduction, pain relief, quality of life, cortisol reduction, and vocal self-efficacy at T2 (all p < 0.01). Conclusion: An active, participatory intervention integrating guided singing, mindfulness, and CBT can modulate autonomic function, enhance emotional externalization, and strengthen peer support, offering a feasible, low-cost, and scalable nonpharmacological model for palliative oncology care.
Copyright (c) 2025 JinRui Guo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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