Although the research literature includes many qualitative studies and perspectives on the use of music therapy in hospice and palliative care, the empirical data are limited. Table 1 lists the 11 empirical studies evaluating the use of music therapy for people with a terminal illness found within the research literature. Databases such as Article First, First Search, Medline, ERIC, LexisNexis and PsychInfo were used to locate the research articles. Five of the studies were published in scholarly journals (e.g. Journal of Music Therapy and American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care). Another five were unpublished master's theses, and one was from a book of conference proceedings. What follows is a summary of each of these studies and an analysis of the body of evidence for hospice/palliative care music therapy.