Music therapy practice: relative perspectives in evidence-based reviews

摘要

With increased acceptance of and reliance upon evidence-based practice, systematic reviews of literature play an important role in healthcare decisions. While conclusions from evidence-based reviews inform evidence-based practice, different reviewers often reach different conclusions. The purpose of this article is to explore some of the issues that relate to the evidence presented in various reviews of music therapy clinical practice. The article includes an overview of evidence-based practice and an examination of various sources of information for reviews, including an overview of hierarchies of evidence and systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The article discusses the literature included in reviews, including what literature becomes a part of a review and how this is determined, as well as how that literature is rated once it is in the review. It compares selected systems of ratings for systematic reviews and how they may lead to different conclusions. It analyzes systematic reviews of music therapy research on autism and dementia using one of these systems. The authors draw conclusions about systematic reviews from this information and discuss implications for music therapy.