Paper | Music and patient wellbeing

Hanneke van der Wal-Huisman is a nurse researcher at University Medical Center Groningen, specializing in the postoperative recovery of older patients. In her dissertation Adding value to care through live bedside music, she explores the potential of music as a nonpharmacological intervention to enhance recovery. After extensive discussion of the many positive effects of music on patient wellbeing, she also considers the role of the arts in health and the potential for live music to become embedded in our health practices. Though this work focused on patient wellbeing, Van der Wal-Huisman has also been part of an investigation into the impact of ‘music for patients’ on the nurses who care for them.