Audio interventions for acute pain management – Protocol of systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background: Undermanaged acute pain contributes to the development of chronic pain and reduced quality of life. Although many complementary therapies have been implemented to manage chronic pain, few studies have investigated these therapies in acute pain. As one of the digital-integrated interventions, audio-related interventions provide multi approaches that potentially affect pain levels, such as suggestive affirmation, educative information, distraction, and relaxation. This study aims 1. to screen and evaluate contemporary literature concerning audio-related interventions application to reduce acute pain, 2. To analyze how the audio interventions affect pain reduction in adults in hospital settings, and 3. To identify the critical aspects of successful audio interventions in pain reduction for adults in a hospital setting. Method: This study will use Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. Six online databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane library, Ovid Medline & Medline (EBSCOhost), and Embase) will be searched. This review will include RCTs of audio-related interventions to reduce the acute pain level of adults in a hospital setting. Studies published older than ten years ago, presented in non-English languages, combined with other complementary interventions, and presented with the incomplete essential statistical value of pain will be excluded. The meta-analysis will be performed using R and synthesized using the GRADE approach with risk bias assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment tool. Discussion: This paper will contribute to clinical practice, specifically in the application of complementary therapies or medical technologies associated with audio-related interventions. The findings will provide crucial information on the implication of audio interventions in more effective ways. Registration: This study is registered in INPLASY protocol 202310002. Doi: 10.37766/inplasy2023.1.0002 and under review of PROSPERO.