- Music therapy, microconcerts, prenatal singing, a musical playroom, collaborations with healthcare musicians and a channel with song lists adapted to groups of patients, are some of the actions promoted by the healthcare group in its hospitals and that are included in the Rhythms of Life program.
- Different specialists assure that music therapy can reduce blood pressure and heart rate and have a direct effect on stress and anxiety, in addition to influencing the cognitive and emotional level.
- During 2023, the Rhythms of Life program focused on dissemination for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases with the construction of the first arrhythmic metronome in history
The health group Ribera gives new impetus to music therapy and the different actions that unite music and health in its hospitals, to improve the well-being of its patients and contribute positively to their recovery. Workshops, micro-concerts, prenatal singing, musical playroom and a channel in Spotify, with different song lists, are some of the activities that are now grouped in the group's macro program Rhythms of Life.
Rhythms of Life was born a year ago, as a project to raise awareness about the importance of heart health, by linking the tempo of music with the rhythm of heartbeats and building the first arrhythmic metronome in history. This campaign, carried out with the help of the creative agency Maart, It has been exhibited in the group's main hospitals, which have also organized conferences and talks to help patients prevent cardiovascular risks, as well as music therapy workshops and live performances.
Now, all the initiatives organized by Ribera and that link music and health are already part of the Rhythms of Life macroprogram, and the group's objective is to progressively incorporate all new actions in this line. “There are more and more scientific studies that relate music to well-being and quality of life,” explains the hospital psychologist. Ribera Polusa, Belén Vázquez, who assures that “it is a good therapeutic tool, which is acquiring more and more importance in clinical practice, influencing the physical, cognitive, emotional, social and behavioral component.”
Dr. Alex García, head of Neurology at the Hospital de Denia, assures that music therapy "has a controlled influence, among others, on motor skills, memory, attention, creativity, verbalization, enhancement of the senses, proprioception, reduction of stress and anxiety, brain stimulation, immune system and biological rhythms." Hence, as the Ribera Polusa psychologist recalls, it has very beneficial effects on sleep, anxiety, depressive, personality disorders or phobias of different types. Microconcerts organized in areas such as Dialysis, Oncology day hospital or the ICU have been very well received by patients and their benefits have been demonstrated.
For her part, Christelle García, psychologist at the Vinalopó University Hospital, assures that “some clinical studies determine that music therapy can be used as an alternative therapy in the treatment of depression, autism, schizophrenia and dementia, as well as for agitation and substance abuse problems, with benefits in the “area of social isolation, the cognitive sphere and psychotic symptoms”. Furthermore, he explains that "in patients admitted to the ICU, music therapy can help them by reducing heart and respiratory rates, and blood pressure, which facilitates a relaxation response." In the ICU of Torrejón University Hospital Music is “a non-pharmacological tool to improve the physical and emotional well-being of patients and their families,” as explained by the supervisor of this unit, Conchi Faura. “Music therapy has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety in patients, creating a positive environment during their stay in a complicated space,” she adds.
In addition, prenatal music therapy and singing workshops have been introduced in the group's hospitals to help pregnant women relax. With pediatric patients, music also has a “calming” effect. Hospitals such as the university hospitals of Vinalopó and Torrejón, Denia, Ribera Povisa, Ribera Polusa or Ribera Hospital of Molina They have already demonstrated the good reception they have among patients. A patient recently wrote about an experience with music therapy at the Torrejón Hospital: “Both my father, admitted to the ICU, and we burst into tears when we heard you, and the emotion was greatest when we saw my father moved, remembering experiences of childhood thanks to your beautiful melodies and voices. “Music therapy should be a mandatory treatment.”
To disseminate on a large scale and reach the general public, as well as the patients and professionals themselves, the benefits of music in the field of health, the Ribera group has recently launched a channel in Spotify, with personalized music lists for different groups of patients and professionals.
