The Effect of Music Therapy and Progressive Muscle Relaxation Exercise on Anxiety Before the First Clinical Practice in Nursing Students: A Randomized Controlled Study

AIM: This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of music therapy and progressive muscle relaxation exercise on the state and trait anxiety levels before their first clinical practice in nursing students. METHOD: This randomized controlled experimental study sample consisted of 86 nursing students who will be firstly applied to clinical practice. The students were randomly assigned to music (n=30), exercise (n=28), and control (n=28) groups. The data of the study were collected with Student Information Form and State-Trait Anxiety Scale. The music therapy intervention was applied to the music group three times a week for the first 2 weeks. Progressive muscle relaxation exercise was applied alone to the exercise group three times a week for the first 2 weeks in a separate room. No intervention was applied to the control group. This study RCT number is: NCT04540172 RESULTS: The majority of the students was female (81.4%), and the mean age was 19.74 +/- 1.38 years. After the interventions, there was a statistical difference between the groups, and this difference was created by the control group (p<0.05). The pre-test and posttest results were compared in the experimental groups, and the state anxiety levels had decreased (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the trait anxiety levels between the groups (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Music therapy and muscle relaxation exercises can be used to reduce the state anxiety levels in nursing students before their first clinical practice experience.