Music and Health Institute Taxonomy

Until now, existing research on the intersection of music and health has been hard to sort through because it is dispersed across academic fields and often cataloged with only broad terms, such as "Music" and "Music Therapy."

The goal of the Music and Health Institute Research Collection is to improve access to relevant research by collecting it into one location and enabling the recognition of trends across the evidence base. In order to facilitate discovery, the Music and Health Institute Taxonomy was developed by Heather Hedden of Hedden Information Management and Joy Allen, PhD, Acting Director of the Music and Health Institute of Berklee College of Music.

The MHI Taxonomy enables users to find quality evidence that can help them compare and contrast different studies on music and health; build on existing work; and identify gaps in the literature to build a research agenda. Each of these actions will contribute to the creation of a strong evidence base needed to convince the medical community that music has a place alongside more traditional clinical treatments.

Taxonomy Hierarchy

The taxonomy hierarchy includes both medical terms and music terms and is divided into several sections:

Search With Taxonomy

The MHI Taxonomy is used to consistently index all records in the Music and Health Institute Research Collection. When you run a search on any word or phrase, your search results will include any record that includes that term anywhere in the record, included in the field labeled "MHI Taxonomy." There are two ways to search:

  • Advanced Search
    1. Select Advanced Search on the left side of the page.
    2. From the drop-down options in the first box select Subject (default is All Fields).
    3. Enter the taxonomy term, in quotes, in the search box to the right of it.
    4. Click the plus sign if you want to search this term AND additional Subjects or words in other fields, and fill out the next box(es) accordingly. Please note that the Subject field includes more than just the MHI Taxonomy terms; it also includes other indexed terms, such as Medical Subject Headings, that may be attached to each record.
    5. Click the search button.
  • Basic Search Filtering
    1. Enter any words into the search box on the left side of the page and then click the search button.
    2. On the left side of the search results page will be a section labeled KEYWORD under which will be a list of terms from the MHI Taxonomy (and also some other indexed terms, such as from Medical Subject Headings) in order of occurrence. Expand the list by clicking on "More."
    3. Click on any term in that section to retrieve items that included both the original search term and the term you clicked on.

For questions about the MHI Taxonomy, contact Jenée Force, Associate Director, Archives and Special Collections, at .

Taxonomy Terms

Medical-related Terms

Condition or Disease (music interventions for those suffering from or experiencing…)
  • Abuse
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Intimate Partner Violence
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Amputees
  • Behavioral Addictions
    • Gambling Addiction
    • Technology Addiction
  • Burns
  • Cancer
    • Breast Cancer
    • Leukemia
  • Cardiovascular Diseases
  • Chronic Disease
  • Congenital Disorders
    • Cerebral Palsy
    • Down Syndrome
    • Muscular Dystrophy
    • Spina Bifida
  • Critically Ill
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Hearing Loss
  • Mental Health
    • Anxiety Disorders
    • Burnout
      • Caregiver Burnout
      • Professional Burnout
    • Eating Disorders
    • Mood Disorders
      • Depressive Disorder
      • Postpartum Depression
    • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
    • Personality Disorders
      • Borderline Personality Disorder
    • Psychotic Disorders
    • Social Isolation
    • Somatic Symptom Disorders
    • Stress
      • Stress Management
    • Trauma
      • Event Trauma
      • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
    • Wellness and Well-Being
  • Neurodegenerative Disorders
    • ALS
    • Alzheimer's and Related Dementias
      • Lewy Body Dementia
      • Mixed Dementias
    • Huntington's Disease
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Parkinson's Disease
  • Organ Transplantation
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Pain
    • Acute Pain
    • Cardiovascular Pain
    • Chronic Pain
    • Experimentally Induced Pain
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Headache
    • Joint Pain
    • Labor Pain
    • Musculoskeletal Pain
    • Postoperative Pain
    • Postpartum Pain
    • Procedural Pain
    • Wound Pain
  • Physical Disabilities
  • Pregnancy
    • Labor Pain
  • Respiratory Conditions
    • Apnea
    • Asthma
  • Scoliosis
  • Sickle Cell Disease
  • Sleep Wake Disorders
  • Stroke
  • Substance Use, Abuse and Addiction
    • Alcohol Use, Abuse and Addiction
    • Drug Use, Abuse and Addiction
    • Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)
    • Withdrawal
  • Terminally Ill
  • Vision Disorders

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Procedure or Treatment (music interventions for those undergoing…)
  • Acupuncture
  • Anesthesia
  • Childbirth
  • Dental Procedures
  • Invasive Medical Procedures
    • Chemotherapy
    • Coronary Procedures
    • Dialysis
    • Immunizations
    • Stem Cell Transplantation
  • Mechanical Ventilation
  • Neonatal Procedures
  • Noninvasive Procedures
    • Radiation Therapy
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Palliative Care
  • Physical Exercise
  • Physical Therapy
  • Rehabilitation Exercises
  • Sedation
  • Surgery
    • Abdominal Surgery
    • Cardiac Surgery
    • Obstetrical/Gynecological Surgery
    • Oral Surgery
    • Organ Transplantation
    • Orthopedic Surgery
    • Thoracic Surgery
    • Vascular Surgery
  • Wound Care

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Outcome/What's measured or evaluated/Goals (Study evaluated music's effect on…)
  • Adverse Effects
  • Agitation
  • Anger
  • Anxiety
  • Behavioral State
  • Bowel Function
  • Calmness
  • Cognitive Abilities
    • Memory
  • Confusion
  • Coping
  • Depression
  • Discomfort
  • Distress
  • Emotional Functioning
  • Endurance Level
  • Engagement Level
  • Exercise Adherence
  • Fatigue
  • Fear
  • Functional Status
  • Hospital Length of Stay
  • Interpersonal Problems
  • Labor Duration
  • Length of Life
  • Mental Health
  • Medication Use
    • Analgesic Intake
      • Opioid Intake
    • Anesthetic Intake
    • Anti-Anxiety Medication Intake
    • Anti-Depressant Medication Intake
    • Sedative Intake
  • Mobility
    • Gait
    • Range of Motion
  • Mood
  • Nausea
  • Pain
    • Pain at Ambulation
    • Pain at Rest
    • Pain Attack Frequency
    • Pain Management and Control
    • Pain Disability
    • Pain Duration
    • Pain Severity
    • Pain Tolerance
  • Patient Experience
  • Patient Satisfaction
  • Positive Verbalizations
  • Psychiatric Symptoms
  • Psychological Outcomes
  • Quality of Life
  • Recovery Time
  • Relapse Prevention
  • Resilience
  • Relaxation
    • Mental Relaxation
    • Muscle Relaxation
  • Sadness
  • Self-Concept
  • Self-Efficacy
  • Self-Perceived Exertion
  • Sense of Coherence
  • Sleep Quality
  • Stress
  • Success of Procedure
  • Suffering
  • Symptom Management
  • Tension
  • Vitality
  • Wellness and Well-Being
  • Willingness to Undergo Procedure

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Tests and Measuring Methods (outcomes were measured/evaluated by means of…)
  • Physiologic test types
    • Electrocardiographic Measures
    • Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
    • Oxygen Saturation
    • Stress Hormone Levels
      • Cortisol Levels
    • Vital Signs
      • Blood Pressure
      • Body Temperature
      • Heart Rate
      • Pulse Rate
      • Respiratory Rate
  • Subjective ratings, scales types
    • Anxiety Scales
    • Behavioral Scales
    • Fear Scales
    • Functional Assessments
    • Mood Scales
    • Neurologic Assessments
    • Pain Score or Rating
    • Relaxation Levels
  • Reporting types
    • Interviews
    • Questionnaires
    • Self-Report Measures
      • Likert Scale
      • Visual Analog Scale (VAS)
    • Subjective Reports

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Special Populations
  • Hospitalized Patients
    • Critically Ill
    • Terminally Ill
  • Prisoners
  • Surgical Patients
    • Postoperative Patients
  • Veterans
  • Infants
  • Newborn Infants
    • Premature Infants
  • Children
  • Adolescents
  • Elderly
  • Gender Disparities
  • Racial Disparities

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Setting
  • Adult Day Care
  • Community Center
  • Detox Setting
  • Home Setting
  • Hospice Care
  • Hospital Setting
    • Emergency Department
    • Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
    • Neonatal Intensive Care
    • Postanesthesia Care Unit (PACU)
  • Inpatient Rehabilitation
  • Medical Office
  • Music Therapy Treatment Center
  • Nursing Home
  • Outpatient Rehabilitation
  • Pain Clinic
  • Palliative Care
  • Workplace Setting

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Music-related Terms

Music and Health Topic Areas
  • Music and Cognition
    • Music Cognition
    • Music Neuroscience
    • Music Perception
  • Music and Healing
    • Arts and Medicine
    • Environmental Music
    • Music Practitioners
    • Music Thanatology
    • Sound Healing
      • Vibroacoustic Therapy
  • Music Medicine
  • Music Therapy
    • Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music
    • Expressive Arts Therapy
    • Neurologic Music Therapy

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Music Interventions
  • Recreative Music Methods
    • Music Performance
    • Musical Games and Activities
    • Playing an Instrument
    • Rhythmic Sensory Stimulation
    • Singing a Song
  • Composition
    • Instrument Composition
    • Music Collages
    • Songwriting
  • Improvisation
    • Body Improvisation
    • Instrumental Improvisation
    • Song Improvisation
    • Vocal Improvisation
  • Receptive Music Methods
    • Audio Analgesia
    • Meditative Listening
    • Music and Exercise
    • Music and Mindfulness
    • Music and Imagery
      • Guided Imagery
    • Music and Relaxation
    • Music Based Life Review
    • Music-Based Toning
    • Music Entrainment
    • Music in Combination with Other Techniques
    • Music Listening
      • Live Music Listening
      • Recorded Music Listening
      • Music as Distraction
    • Song Reminiscence
    • Song Lyric Discussion
    • Song Communication

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