The use of music for children and adolescents living with rare diseases in the healthcare setting: a scoping review study protocol

Background: Interest in the application of music in the health, social care and community contexts is growing worldwide. There is an emerging body of literature about the positive effects of music on the well-being and social relationships of children and adult populations. Music has also been found to promote social interaction, communication skills, and social-emotional behaviours of children with medically complex care needs. Despite significant advancements in the area, to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first scoping review to investigate the evidence for using music therapy and music-based interventions for children living with rare diseases in the healthcare setting. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to conduct a scoping review of the literature to map out the existing studies about the use of music therapy and music-based interventions with children who have rare diseases in the healthcare setting. This review will also identify gaps in current knowledge and use of these interventions. Method: This study follows the Joanna Briggs Institute’s methodology for scoping reviews, utilising Arksey and O’Malley’s six-stage scoping review framework: 1) identifying the research question; 2) identifying relevant studies; 3) study selection; 4) charting the data; 5) collating, summarising and reporting results; and 6) consulting with relevant stakeholders step. A comprehensive search will be conducted in CINAHL Complete; MEDLINE Complete; Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection; and PubMed Central databases. A search strategy with selected inclusion and exclusion criteria will be used to reveal a wide range of evidence. This study will include quantitative, qualitative and mixed research methods studies published in English from 2010 to 2020.