• Anantha Narayanan and Andrew R Gray.
• Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin.
• N. Z. Med. J. 2018 Aug 17; 131 (1480): 68-74.

AimIt is common for music to be played in operating theatres around the world. The benefits or harms of this music on practitioners and patients are not well known. The aim of this paper is to examine the attitudes and perceptions of theatre staff towards the presence of music during operations on the theatre environment.MethodThis observational study was conducted in a single-centre at a tertiary teaching hospital in New Zealand. Over a two-week period in 2014, the entire theatre staff population were sent an online survey. We gathered data on demographics (eg, age, gender, theatre role), perceived frequency of music being played in operating rooms, types of music, disposition to music in different situations, the perception of an effect on the theatre team, and on with whom the decision to have music played lay with. Appropriate statistical analyses were applied.ResultsA hundred and six responses were received (45% response rate). 98% of people said that music is played in their operating rooms, with 50% saying it was played more than 50% of the time. 60% liked having it, whereas 30% disliked it. Easy Listening was the genre most played closely followed by Pop and Classical. Easy Listening was the most preferred and classical music the second most. Music was preferred for longer, more familiar and non-urgent procedures, at a low to medium volume, preferably from a CD or MP3 player, though 84% felt it was a distraction in a crisis situation. Surgeons were the most empowered group, and anaesthetic technicians the least when it came to choosing music. Most respondents felt music improved calmness, overall mood, overall team performance and surgeon's performance, though worsened communication.ConclusionThis study, while limited in size, demonstrates that theatre staff generally like music in the operating theatre, and most believe it has a positive impact on several aspects of the theatre environment, though a negative influence on communication. There have been no clinical impact studies on patient and this could be an avenue for future research.

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