Strengthening Research Capacity to Develop Randomized Controlled Trials on Local Music-Based Interventions in Tanzania
Funded by Making a Difference Awards
Title: Strengthening Research Capacity to Develop Randomized Controlled Trials on Local Music-Based Interventions in Tanzania
Recipient: Tara Rajendran
Date: 6 December 2025
I am deeply grateful to the Trustees of Society for Education and Music Psychology Research (SEMPRE), for awarding The SEMPRE ‘Making a Difference’ Award of grant amount £300 towards the expenses of travelling to Tanzania and conducting a 2 day pre-conference workshop (Kairuki hospital) and for delivering the keynote address at the 3rd East African Public Health and Palliative Care Scientific Congress (EAPCON), held at the University of Dar es Salaam from 7–9 October 2025. This support significantly enabled my continued commitment to global capacity building in local, accessible, cost-effective, and sustainable music-based interventions (MBI) research as an adjunct to standard care in clinical settings, and facilitated a meaningful program of teaching, training, and cultural exchange.
EAPCON 2025 convened clinicians, medical students, researchers, and policymakers dedicated to improving equitable, patient-centred palliative care across East Africa. Day 1 (October 7, 2025) of the workshop was aimed at enhancing participants’ understanding of the evolving global evidence base in psychoneuroendocrinology of music, distinctions between music therapy and music medicine, and various research designs with their respective strengths and constraints. The session concluded with a discussion on social prescribing frameworks such as those developed within the UK, exploring how music engagement may be incorporated into community contexts (Figure 1).
Day 2 (October 8, 2025) focused explicitly on strengthening the capacity to design and report randomised controlled trials (RCTs) as per the latest Consolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) and MBI Reporting Guidelines(Robb et al). Through exercises, participants were trained to analyse published MBI trials to understand methodological rigor, fidelity considerations, reporting standards, and ethical implications. Building on this foundation, 13 participants came up with unique research questions addressing 13 diverse Tanzanian clinical contexts. This outcome represents a key highlight of the initiative, demonstrating both the need for structured research training among Tanzanian healthcare researchers to lead culturally grounded, accessible, and sustainable research (Figure 2).
That afternoon, I was invited to the United Nations Tanzania for the World Mental Health Day programme at the UN House, where I delivered a talk entitled Music for Mental Health and Wellbeing: Understanding Its Role and Impact. Framed within the UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), the talk examined the published research showing the positive impact of music in mental health care, workplace well-being initiatives, and the role of ‘arts in health’ advocacy. The session included a brief participatory music engagement activity and a Classical South Indian Saraswati Veena recital (Figure 3).
On October 9, I delivered a keynote address, ‘Music in Medicine: Researching the Role of Local Music in Tanzania’s Health Care Practices’, highlighting that generating RCTs on local music traditions must be followed by policy integration, supported by academic training, accreditation systems, and professional licensing to establish a sustainable MBI infrastructure in Tanzania (Figure 4). In the evening, I presented a classical South Indian Saraswati Veena concert attended by dignitaries from the High Commission of India, the WHO, and UN Tanzania (Figure 5).
The objectives set forth were meaningfully achieved. Building on the work I have undertaken since 2019 through my Oncology and Strings lecture–concert advocacy program to strengthen local MBI research capacity, this programme in Tanzania reaffirmed a global commitment to patient-centred care. Because music is closely tied to autobiographical memory and emotional impact, interventions must be personalised—what comforts one patient may distress another. Developing MBIs rooted in local soundscapes is therefore essential to patient-tailored care. The SEMPRE ‘Making a Difference’ Award directly supported this endeavour, and I remain sincerely grateful to SEMPRE (Figures 6 and 7).
