Dance for Dementia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Dancing bodies: Benefits to wellbeing through dance sessions for people with dementia living in care homes.
IRAS ID
261791
Contact name
Victoria Sarah Jane Archbold
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Leeds Beckett University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
Recent literature suggests that visual arts programmes can improve social inclusion, behaviour, cognition and well-being for people living with dementia. Equally, research suggests that involvement in types of physical activity has numerous benefits on the physical, social and mental wellbeing of dementia patients. Dance points a toe in both, being a visual art and a form of physical activity for people to take part in. Dance activities are starting to be incorporated into daily care for people who have dementia in long-term care, with the objective of improving the quality of life or residents. Research into dance programmes delivered in care homes have been centred around assessing the effects on a person’s cognition and functional movements, rather than personal experience and expression. Although research groups in the fields of nursing, psychology and psychiatry are studying dance as an engaging intervention for people with dementia, high quality research-based evidence about the effects of dance on people with dementia living in long-term care is lacking. Many studies currently exist assessing social isolation factors in dementia care and suggest that people with dementia are at a higher risk of suffering from social isolation than other social groups. Although research is emerging to evaluate the effects of dance sessions on social isolation among people with dementia living in care, more rigorous studies investigating whether social exclusion is being combatted through involvement in group dance interventions are necessary, to fully assess the merits of dance activity in this regard.\n\nAims:\n\nThis study aims to;\n\n1.\tInvestigate whether engaging in dance sessions provided prior to the research beginning have had an impact on social connectivity.\n2.\tAssess changes in participant’s daily experiences, with and without the sessions being provided.\n3.\tReview mood changes due to dance sessions. \n4.\tAssess how the above-mentioned results impact quality of life. \n
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/YH/0179
Date of REC Opinion
28 Jun 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion