The project in summary

Music-therapy sessions for children with congenital heart diseases and chronically ill hospitalized at the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève (HUG).

The project in detail

The project aimed at introducing music-therapy, as a complementary practice to the traditional, interdisciplinary therapeutic treatments, in the pediatric intensive care unit of l’Hôpital des Enfants à Genève des HUG so as to reduce, through the creative and non-verbal mediation of music, the pains and fears of the young patients who, since their hospitalization, are plunged into a reality where the mechanical dynamics of reanimation, respiratory assistance and constant medical care treatments replace the emotions, the feelings and life itself. Specifically, the project aimed to:

  • Humanize the hospital experience and allow young patients to build a space of autonomy and freedom, from where recover their identity;
  • Reactivate their creative skills and allow them to start a Post-Traumatic Resilience Process;
  • Improve the medical work environment, and reduce the stress of doctors, paramedics and nurses;
  • Transform music-therapy into a complementary therapy to the traditional interdisciplinary medical treatments and make it sustainable inside the Unité des soins intensifs pédiatriques des HUG.

Effective beneficiaries (April 2019-August 2022)

  • 320 children (aged 2 weeks-19 years) in long-term care at HUG, and suffering from serious and degenerative pathologies;
  • 202 children with congenital heart diseases or suffering from cardiovascular diseases, aged 19 days-22 years, primarily coming from Africa and participating to the program “Voyage vers la vie”, led by Fondation Terre des hommes;
  • 7 premature babies (26 weeks), in the neonatal ward at HUG;
  • 1 young inpatient for social reasons;
  • 41 adults (39 parents, 2 grandfathers).

In 2019-2022, the support from Alta Mane allowed the launch of the music therapy project pilot phase in the pediatric intensive care and the general pediatric (B1 and B2) wards, and subsequently the extension of the music therapy interventions to the pediatric surgery, neonatal, oncology and orthopaedic wards of the HUG in Geneva.

During the period April 2019-August 2022, 1’523 effective music-therapy sessions (for a total of 1’040,15 hours) tailored to the needs, abilities and socio-cultural specificity of the young patients, have taken place and reached 320 children in long-term care at HUG and suffering from degenerative pathologies, 202 children with congenital heart diseases or suffering from cardiovascular illnesses participating to the program “Voyage vers la vie” led by Fondation Terre des hommes, 7 premature babies in the neonatal ward, and 1 young inpatient for social reasons. In parallel, several interdisciplinary meetings took place intended to the medical and nursing staff. These meetings allowed the music-therapist to adapt his sound sessions to the evolution of the clinical picture of the young patients as well as permitted the medical and nursing staff to adjust the medical care to the variations of stress and anxiety levels of the patients themselves.