The project Aqui contigo – Sound as Last Lap by SAMP, taking place in Pombal (Portugal) has gathered some very interesting feedback. The pilot action impacts not only the direct beneficiaries of the artistic intervention, in this case being the patients of the Pombal District Hospital, but also the health and social professionals taking care of them and, in general, the whole hospital atmosphere.
As a matter of fact, the positive outcome is clearly visible after the first months: people in chronic conditions are able to relieve somatic pain thanks to music, while professionals are stating that the project helped to soften the constant daily pressure and favored a sense of well-being in the work environment.

Here is a statement from Alexandra Teixeira, Specialist Nurse and member of the Humanization Committee:

The project Aqui Contigo (Here With You), developed by SAMP at Pombal District Hospital, represents a transformative encounter between music and healthcare. This initiative transcended the conventional hospital environment and created a space for humanisation, welcome and connection through musical art.
We believe that the impact on the patients was profound and heart-warming. Music proved to be a powerful vehicle for emotional relief, easing tensions and anxieties associated with the hospital environment. Many described feelings of calm, comfort and even joy, even during challenging times such as hospitalisation. Music helped transform hospital rooms into spaces of serenity, where emotions could be experienced more lightly and less seriously.
For the professionals, the music helped to soften the constant daily pressure and favoured a sense of well-being in the work environment. In addition, we believe that it brought the professionals closer to the human dimension of the patients and strengthened the bond, promoting greater empathy and sensitivity in care.
Being able to take part in this project has contributed to a deeper understanding of the direct impact of music in hospital environments. We realised how sounds and musical harmony can create bridge between art and medicine, promoting a holistic approach to care.
Being able to take part in this project has contributed to a deeper understanding of the direct impact of music in hospital environments. We realised how sounds and musical harmony can create bridges between art and medicine, promoting a holistic approach to care.
One of the main challenges was to somehow change mentalities. Adapting the presence of music to an environment as sensitive and dynamic as a hospital can seem like a difficult task, and it’s necessary to balance the intensity of the musical interventions with the patients’ routines and rest. This was overcome after the first week of the project. The professionalism and sensitivity of the SAMP musicians clearly contributed to its acceptance.
The adaptation of repertoires to the hospital context combined with the empathy and emotion in each intervention made Aqui Contigo (Here With You) the highlight and most eagerly awaited moment of the week.

For the future, we hope that Aqui Contigo (Here With You) can expand its reach, both in terms of the number of beneficiaries and the area it covers. We believe in an even greater partnership between music and therapeutic practices, with the development of protocols that value art as an integral part of holistic healthcare, inspiring other institutions to embrace this initiative as an essential tool for humanisation.
Finally, we hope that Aqui Contigo (Here With You) continues to touch lives, chanting hope and well-being wherever music finds a heart that needs to hear it.

 

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