Music as medicine: new study tests tunes for sickle cell relief
NCT ID NCT06853158
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study is testing whether music therapy can help improve quality of life for people with sickle cell disease. About 90 teens and adults will be split into three groups: in-person music therapy, a mix of in-person and virtual music therapy, or health education sessions. The main goal is to see if running this type of study is practical, not yet to prove the therapy works.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Music therapy
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a low-risk, enjoyable way to help people with sickle cell disease feel better day-to-day.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small early feasibility study, not designed to prove music therapy works. It may not show clear benefits, and results may not apply to everyone with sickle cell disease.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 90 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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14 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Be aged \>=14 years old 2. Have a diagnosis of SCD present in their electronic health record (EHR); 3. Meet Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations Innovations Opportunities and Networks-American Pain Society Pain Taxonomy (AAPT) criteria for chronic SCD pain which includes: 3a. A diagnosis of SCD confirmed by laboratory testing (present in EHR per eligibility criteria 2) 3b. Reports of ongoing pain present on most days over the past 6 months either in a single location or in multiple locations (to be obtained at screening) 3c. Displaying at least one of the following signs on clinical exam (to be obtained from providers' clinical notes in the EHR * Palpation of the region of reported pain elicits focal pain or tenderness; * Movement of the region of reported pain elicits focal pain; * Decreased range of motion or weakness in the region of reported pain; * Evidence of skin ulcer in the region of reported pain; * Evidence of hepatobiliary or splenic imaging abnormalities (e.g., splenic infarct, chronic pancreatitis) consistent with the region of reported pain; or * Evidence of imaging abnormalities consistent with bone infarction or avascular necrosis in the region of reported; 3d. There is no other diagnosis that better explains the signs and symptoms (to be obtained from providers following referral and pre-screening) 4\. Be able to speak and understand English; 5\. Have an email address and access to mobile device with a functioning data plan 6\. Reporting that pain interfered with daily activities at least 1-2 days in the past week. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Have a significant visual, hearing, or cognitive impairment 2. Have previously participated in the MUSIQOLS single-site pilot study at University Hospitals in 2018 3. Are currently engaging in mind-body therapies under the supervision of a healthcare professional specifically for pain management 4. Have a planned major medical event in the next 14 weeks such as (but not limited to) childbirth, orthopedic surgery, gene therapy, or stem cell transplant (These criteria do not include blood transfusions, exchange transfusions, or other pharmacologic pain treatment). Qualitative interviews will be conducted with \~24 participants who received the interventions (with equal numbers across the InMT, HybMT and HybHE groups). Participants will be purposively sampled to include equal distribution across sites in proportion to recruitment. Stakeholder surveys and qualitative interviews will be conducted among \~20 relevant staff stakeholders (\~10 per site), including healthcare providers \& staff, music therapists and HybHE interventionists.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
2 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Prisma Health Lifespan Comprehensive SCD Program
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGGreenville, South Carolina, 29605, United States
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UH Seidman Cancer Center Adult SCD Clinic or UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital Sickle Cell Anemia Center
RECRUITINGCleveland, Ohio, 44106, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can adding common pain drugs reduce morphine needs in sickle cell crises?
- Gene editing offers hope for a One-Time sickle cell cure
- Tiny biochip could reveal sickle cell severity
- Can a milder transplant cure sickle cell and thalassemia in adults?
- Can an antioxidant supplement calm sickle cell blood cells?
- Can a softer transplant cure sickle cell disease?