The Effect of African Drumming on on Mental Well-being Among Adults With Acute Mood Disorder

This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of an occupational therapy-led African drumming group on mental well-being among adult psychiatric inpatients with mood disorders. A secondary purpose was to test a protocol for the delivery of African drumming interventions to adults with acute mood disorders.

A quasi-experimental uncontrolled one-group pre-test-post-test design was used to collect data during six drumming groups at an acute mental health clinic. Thirteen adults completed assessments of different aspects of mental well-being, including mood and enjoyment, before and after the intervention. Because this was a pilot study, participants were not assigned to any comparison groups. In addition, in-patients at the clinic received the intervention whether they participated in the study or not.

Improvement in mental well-being across different domains of mental well-being was expected, including feelings of anger, tension, confusion, depression, fatigue and vigour. The researchers also expected the intervention to be more effective in participants with previous drumming experience, and in those with lower levels of anxiety and depression.