Person-centred Music-making as a Cultural Change Agent for Compassionate Healthcare

Through the Lens of Experiential Workplace Learning

Authors

• Krista de Wit Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54916/rae.119540

Keywords:

person-centred music-making, patient-centred care, compassion, experiential learning

Abstract

To meet the care needs of the rapidly ageing patient populations, the cultivation of a compassionate patient-centred healthcare culture has become
central in the value-based healthcare discourse. A participatory music practice, ‘Meaningful Music in Healthcare’ employs a person-centred approach to
music-making in Dutch hospitals. A grounded theory analysis on ethnographically collected data suggests that music-making serves as a social change agent and cultural resource for catalysing compassionate contact between healthcare professionals and patients. Processes of experiential growth and shared values
in music-making and healthcare help to enrich care relationships and allow the emotional dimension of nurses’ professional performance to be explored.