Exploring Young Adults' Perspectives of Participation in a Mindfulness-Based Music Therapy Intervention Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

To explore adolescent and young adults' (AYAs) experiences with participation in a mindfulness-based music therapy intervention during cancer treatment before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sixteen young adults (20-39 years old) who received cancer treatment and participated in a mindfulness-based music therapy intervention for anxiety and stress were interviewed using a semistructured interview guide. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The interview guide contained prompts about reasons for joining the study, usual coping strategies, experience with the in-person and virtual delivery formats of the intervention, and suggestions for improvement. Themes were derived from the data using inductive content analysis methods. Findings from the interviews included the following: (1) virtual group participants reported difficulty finding a private place to attend the intervention sessions, (2) participants experienced a sense of relaxation in response to intervention participation, (3) in-person group participants felt a sense of connection to the music and their family members who were present during the intervention, while virtual group participants felt a sense of connection to mindfulness, (4) virtual group participants reported that practicing music and mindfulness together was synergistic, and (5) in-person intervention delivery was preferred to virtual intervention delivery. This study provides insight into the contextual factors that impact satisfaction with the intervention and the effect of the intervention on anxiety and stress. Overall, while virtual mindfulness-based music therapy delivery may be more feasible, there are still important advantages to in-person delivery that should be considered in the design of future mindfulness-based music therapy interventions. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03709225.