This photograph was taken during the youths' performance at MRC, in front of the entire MRC community as well as their friends and family. Eight fantastic adolescents took part in this 10-week project, creating music together and forming remarkable friendships. Based on the data collected by the study, a statistically significant increase was observed in pre- and post- self esteem measures, as well as measurable increases in positive affect and decrease in negative affect and stress levels. This research was completed under the guidance of my mentors, Dr. Sid Khosla and Elizabeth Harman, through the Department of Otolaryngology at the UC College of Medicine and the Integrative Medicine team at CCHMC.
The first artifact is the music therapy protocol we developed for the intervention. This was based off of a study in Philadelphia called "Hear Our Voices," and was constructed under the guidance of CCHMC music therapists. The second and third artifacts are (1) the questionnaire packet given to Control and MRC Intervention Groups and (2) the semi-structured interview questions given to the MRC Intervention Group. This yielded comprehensive results indicating psychological change in the participants. The fourth artifact is the recruitment flyer used to recruit participants. This colorful flyer was displayed at schools, youth centers, and even a summer parade in order to attract eligible youths. The fifth artifact is the IRB approval letter, indicating that we had permission to begin research using this vulnerable population. The sixth artifact are significant qualitative quotes pulled from the 5-minute interviews with the MRC Intervention Group. These demonstrate some of the positive changes induced in the participants by the program. The seventh artifact is a compilation of graphs describing the results obtained by the study. I created these in collaboration with a professional statistician and my research mentor. Finally, the seventh and eighth artifacts are the lyrics and professionally produced recording of the song created by the youths. This song represents the major accomplishments made by these teens during the course of the program.
The first artifact is the music therapy protocol we developed for the intervention. This was based off of a study in Philadelphia called "Hear Our Voices," and was constructed under the guidance of CCHMC music therapists. The second and third artifacts are (1) the questionnaire packet given to Control and MRC Intervention Groups and (2) the semi-structured interview questions given to the MRC Intervention Group. This yielded comprehensive results indicating psychological change in the participants. The fourth artifact is the recruitment flyer used to recruit participants. This colorful flyer was displayed at schools, youth centers, and even a summer parade in order to attract eligible youths. The fifth artifact is the IRB approval letter, indicating that we had permission to begin research using this vulnerable population. The sixth artifact are significant qualitative quotes pulled from the 5-minute interviews with the MRC Intervention Group. These demonstrate some of the positive changes induced in the participants by the program. The seventh artifact is a compilation of graphs describing the results obtained by the study. I created these in collaboration with a professional statistician and my research mentor. Finally, the seventh and eighth artifacts are the lyrics and professionally produced recording of the song created by the youths. This song represents the major accomplishments made by these teens during the course of the program.