Child Anxiety Management by Musical Activity during Interaction with a Healthcare Provider in the Rural Area of the Neno District, Malawi, Africa
Child Anxiety Management by Musical Activity during Interaction with a Healthcare Provider in the Rural Area of the Neno District, Malawi, Africa

Summary/Abstract: Anxiety may arise as a normal psychological response to stress, however, it may also characterize a number of disorders that lead to a variety of pathological behaviors. Anxiety manifests itself without discrimination, regardless of age, race or cultural background, modifying the activities and the general state of being of the individual affected by it. Children are also subject to anxiety and anxiety disorders which in some circumstances can endanger their health, and a medical investigation is one of the many situations in which children, more often than not, experience a state of anxiety. As the anxiety of a child during an interaction with a healthcare provider is a well-documented fact, there are efforts made towards making such interactions as stress-free as possible. As a result, a wide range of prophylactic and treatment techniques have been suggested to anxious subjects alongside alternative or complementary activities. Music and musical activities have long been proven to have a calming and relaxing effect on human subjects. This is a pilot study tested one such technique in order to reduce the level of anxiety in children from Malawi, Africa, during their interaction with the healthcare providers, by using a musical activity.

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