Background: Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is the most common inherited genetic blood disorder. Over 8 million people live with SCD globally, with more than 75% residing in low- and middle-income countries. People living with SCD encounter significant stigma from their family members, the public, and healthcare providers which adversely impacts their quality of life, reduces trust in healthcare, and discourages proactive health-seeking behaviors - ultimately contributing to increasing hospitalizations and mortality. Music presents a model for culturally-centered interventions for public engagement and behavior change that has been shown to increase quality of life and address mental wellbeing.

Objective: To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review to identify and synthesize evidence on the impact of music-based interventions for SCD populations. This review aimed to examine the types of music-based interventions implemented and the health outcomes they targeted, including pain management, mental health support, and stigma reduction.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of articles that reported on music interventions, music therapy, music medicine, or any music-related search term and SCD. Studies had to utilize experimental, observational, or qualitative study designs. We identified articles using medical subject headings and keywords from the following databases in June 2024: CINAHL, Cochrane, EMBASE, Global Health, Music Index, OVID, PubMed/Medline, and Web of Science.

Results: A total of 185 articles were reviewed, and 8 were included in the final analysis. All the studies were conducted in hospitals or health clinic settings in the United States. Six of the studies utilized music therapy involving a board-certified music therapist facilitating sessions on listening to music, creating music, or teaching/reinforcing skills using music. The remaining studies gathered descriptive data on SCD patients' preferences for music-based interventions. All studies explored outcomes around pain interference, pain management, and quality of life. About half captured mental health outcomes including depressive and anxiety symptoms. Acceptability and feasibility was also explored through qualitative study designs. Overall, there was high acceptability and feasibility, with participants reporting positive experiences and help with pain management and quality of life with music-based interventions.Discussion: Music-based interventions for SCD populations are promising in addressing stigma and mental health barriers to health care. There is an opportunity to explore music-based health communication interventions to leverage the influence of music on attitudes and behaviors towards people living with SCD.

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2025
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