Men's passage to fatherhood: an analysis of the contemporary relevance of transition theory

This paper presents a theoretical analysis of men's experiences of pregnancy, birth and early fatherhood. It does so using a framework of ritual transition theory and argues that despite its earlier structural-functionalist roots, transition theory remains a valuable framework, illuminating contemporary transitions across the life course. The paper discusses the historical development of transition or ritual theory and, drawing upon data generated during longitudinal ethnographic interviews with men undergoing the transition to fatherhood, analyses its relevance in understanding contemporary experiences of fatherhood

Music as a Nursing Intervention: Effects of Music Listening on Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Respiratory Rate in Abdominal Surgery Patients

Contradictory results have been presented on how music listening affects patients\u27 blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of music listening on blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate on operation day, and on the first, second, and third postoperative days in abdominal surgery patients. Using a quasi-experimental pretest-post-test design, 168 abdominal surgery patients were assigned every second week to the music group (n=83) or to the control group (n=85) for 25 months. In the music group, the respiratory rate was significantly lower after intervention on both the first and second postoperative days compared with the control group. A significant reduction in systolic blood pressure was demonstrated in the group that received music compared with the control group on both the first and second postoperative days. Evaluation of the long-term effects of music on physiological factors showed that the respiratory rate in the music group was significantly lower compared with the control group. Nurses should offer music listening to surgery patients because of its potential benefit

Effects of Listening to Music on Pain Intensity and Pain Distress After Surgery: An Intervention

AIMS: To evaluate the effects of music listening on pain intensity and pain distress on the first and second postoperative days in abdominal surgery patients and the long-term effects of music on the third postoperative day. BACKGROUND: Music has been found to relieve pain intensity in surgery patients. There are only a few studies on music intervention in abdominal surgery. Music intervention studies assessing multidimensional pain such as pain intensity and pain distress are also scarce. DESIGN: Prospective clinical study with two parallel groups. METHODS: Patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery (n = 168) were divided into either a music group (n = 83) or a control group (n = 85). Patients assessed pain intensity and pain distress in bed rest, during deep breathing and in shifting position once in the evening of the operation day and on the first and second postoperative days in the morning, at noon and in the evening. On the third postoperative day, the patients assessed their pain intensity and pain distress only once. RESULTS: In the music group, the patients\u27 pain intensity and pain distress in bed rest, during deep breathing and in shifting position were significantly lower on the second postoperative day compared with control group of patients. On the third postoperative day, when long-term effects of music on pain intensity and pain distress were assessed, there were no significant differences between music and control groups. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that the use of music alleviates pain intensity and pain distress in bed rest, during deep breathing and in shifting position after abdominal surgery on the second postoperative day. Music intervention is safe, inexpensive and easily used to improve the healing environment for abdominal surgery patients. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Music intervention should be offered as an adjunct alternative to pharmacological pain relief after abdominal surgery in nursing practice

The Impact of Listening to Music on Analgesic Use and Length of Hospital Stay While Recovering from Laparotomy

Postoperative pain management is based on the use of analgesics; however, music may alleviate pain either by direct analgesic effects or by relaxing and distracting the mind from pain and unpleasant feelings. Conflicting results have been presented about how listening to music affects analgesic use and length of hospital stay after surgery. We assessed the effect of music listening on analgesic use, length of hospital stay, and adverse effects in adult patients having laparotomy, using a prospective design with two parallel groups. Patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery (n = 168) were assigned to either a music group (n = 83) operated on odd weeks or a control group (n = 85) operated on even weeks. The music group listened to music 7 times for 30 minutes at a time during the first 3 postoperative days. The control group did not listen to the music. The hypotheses that patients in the music group will need less analgesic, have a shorter length of hospital stay, and experience less adverse effects than those in the control group were not supported by the data, although patients recovering from surgery enjoyed listening to music. Music listening may enhance quality of hospital stay and recovery in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery and could be a useful tool to relieve the patient\u27s pain experience