Research trends in music-based interventions in neonatal intensive care units: a text mining and topic modeling study

TL;DR

This study analyzes research trends in NICU music-based interventions from 1998 to 2025, revealing a shift from physiological outcomes to broader developmental and psychosocial goals, with increased interdisciplinary focus.

Contribution

It applies text mining and topic modeling to characterize evolving research themes and highlights the need for clearer distinctions and collaboration in NICU music interventions.

Findings

Research volume increased, especially after 2020.

Shift from passive listening to parent-involved interventions.

Major themes include physiological regulation and psychosocial outcomes.

Abstract

Background: Music-based interventions are increasingly used in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), but the literature remains heterogeneous in intervention type, provider role, and research focus. This study examined research trends in NICU music-based intervention studies using text mining. Methods: We analyzed 83 abstracts from peer-reviewed studies published between 1998 and 2025. Methods included preprocessing, RAKE-based keyphrase extraction, keyword frequency analysis, temporal trend analysis, intervention-type comparison, and latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling. The optimal number of topics was determined using the CaoJuan2009, Arun2010, and Deveaud2014 metrics. Results: Study volume increased steadily over time, with nearly half (38/83) published from 2020 onward. Early studies focused on passive music listening and short-term physiological outcomes, whereas recent studies increasingly examined singing, live music, and parent-involved interventions. Keyword analysis showed a shift from physiological stability and behavioral responses toward neurodevelopmental outcomes, parental emotional well-being, and parent-infant interaction. Music medicine studies emphasized passive auditory stimulation and immediate physiological outcomes, whereas music therapy studies addressed broader developmental, relational, and psychosocial topics. Topic modeling identified four major themes, with parent-involved physiological regulation and stress reduction the most frequent dominant topic. Conclusions: NICU music-based intervention research is becoming more interdisciplinary. The field has expanded from immediate physiological stabilization to broader developmental, relational, and psychosocial goals. Future work should clarify the distinction between music therapy and music medicine and promote interdisciplinary collaboration in NICU care.