Yorkshire Dance Dancing in Time 2015

Dancing in Time Exploring the health and wellbeing benefits of dance for older adults October 2015

all photography Š Sara Teresa

The importance of being physically active has been well recognised for many years.

More recently the importance of reducing sitting time and physical inactivity has been shown to shield against the possible declines in both physical and psychosocial health that we see in an ageing population (60+ years).

Dance can be viewed as an alternative form of physical activity, but is more than just physical exercise.

Dance is more than physical exercise

Dance combines multisensory, social, emotional and physical characteristics, selfexpression and group interaction, and the movement fosters motivation, positive emotions and overall may contribute to health and well-being in a holistic sense.

In January 2015, Leeds Public Health, aiming to reduce healthrelated inequalities, commissioned a yearlong project working in partnership with Yorkshire Dance and the University of Leeds to examine the feasibility of implementing and assessing the impact of a 10 week dance

programme on older adults in 3 deprived inner areas of Leeds. The programme was designed after focus groups with older adults revealed the enablers and barriers to engaging with dance, and feedback was gained on how best to implement such a programme.

The dance programme is delivered for 10 weeks by dance professionals from Yorkshire Dance, and sessions run twice a week for a total of 90 minutes, out of local community facilities. At the end of the 10 weeks older adults ‘share’ examples of what they’ve been doing with invited friends, families and neighbours.

The dance sessions comprise creative, person-centred and didactic elements that draw on the recommendations by the CMO, WHO and ACSM to include aerobic, resistance and flexibility specific exercises to ensure maximum benefit for older people.

Researchers from Sport and Exercise Scientists based at the University of Leeds are using a range of measures to examine the effect of the dance programme on physical activity patterns, mobility and balance, and falls-related efficacy.

To date we have run 2 of the 3 programmes. Across 2 sites, we have had ~25 older adults engaging in 90 minutes of dance twice a week (1M, 24F). Data is collected at 2 time points, pre and post the programme, to assess the effect that dance has had on these health and wellbeing. Furthermore focus groups have examined views on the acceptability of dance, barriers to adherence, and suggestion for improvement.

Participants were more confident in their ability to perform activities of daily living

• Adherence to the dance programme at Site One was 81%, and ranged from 59% 100%, mean adherence to the programme at Site Two was 66.1%, with an adherence rate of between 20%-100%.

• Data from these two groups showed that participants were physically inactive, with much of the day spent sitting at the beginning of the programme and a general trend to be more active after the programme.

• After the programme participants were more confident in their ability to perform activities of daily living without falling, and significantly reduced their time to complete the ‘Timed Up and Go Test’, a key indicator of dynamic balance and mobility.

• Little difference in mood scores was noted - although participants did discuss in the focus groups how positive and happy they felt after dancing.

At Site 3, we intend to measure mood immediately post dancing.

• Qualitative data indicate that the dance programme was viewed very positively, that seeing and working with people was an important part of the programme and confidence to be ‘visible’ and ‘perform’ grew throughout the programme.

• Participants suggest that sessions in local community facilities are preferred, and other older adults should be involved in encouraging others to attend.

The dancers at Site One continue to meet twice a week, and are happy to pay for the session themselves. They continue to perform in events across Leeds.

The dance programme at Site Three has just started, and the programme and data collection will be complete December 2015.

The data we will collect over the whole of this programme will confirm feasibility and acceptability of dance intervention programmes

and, as this initial work is part of the intervention development process, we can then work in partnership with older adults and relevant stakeholder to better refine the dance programme to yield positive physical and psychosocial functioning for older adults across Leeds.

The dancers at Site One continue to meet, are happy to pay for the session themselves and perform in events across Leeds

Moving forward we hope to replicate the dance programme across other sites in Leeds, and also recruit a ‘control group’ to compare our present data with those that do not attend dance.

Furthermore, given some of the comments made in the focus group we would also like to examine the impact of dance participation on cognitive function (e.g. memory).

To see a documentary film of the sessions at Site One, search YouTube for Dancing in Time 2015 - Yorkshire Dance

Leeds Public Health

University of Leeds

Older People’s Team

Sport & Exercise Sciences

The Older People Public Health team within the Office of the Director of Public Health Leeds is located within Adult Social Care. Here the overall focus is to deliver better lives for the most vulnerable older people. Supporting older people to live healthier lives enables a focus on healthy ageing through the delivery of programmes of work under the Ageing Well Board, which includes physical activity and malnutrition of which the Older People Matters Food group has received national recognition for their work.

Researchers from Sport and Exercise Sciences are embedded in the Cardiovascular and Sport Sciences research group of the School of Biomedical Sciences, and their research was ranked 1st for ‘World Leading’ 4* research in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF).

Additionally working under the Ageing Well Board we have developed a range of programs to offer older people broader opportunities to live independent lives with a focus on falls, preventable sight loss, and living with frailty. The Older People’s Team collaboratively work with key partners ranging from health and social care to the voluntary sector to improve the wider determinants of health in relation to older people with a focus on social isolation and poverty.

Finally, the Older People Team along with key partners are championing a significant piece of work to become the Best City to Grow Old In through the Age Friendly Cities initiative. The knowledge and resources created on our journey to become the Best City to Grow Old In will be promoted and shared to improve the public health of all. www.leeds.gov.uk

Research is funded via RCUK, charitable and industry sources and interests are broad ranging, from investigating the role of exercise in health and wellbeing across a range of groups (e.g. cancer patients, obese individuals, community dwelling older adults), to answering physiological questions about cardiovascular and nervous systems, and how they respond to exercise.

A number of staff collaborate with researchers from Leeds NHS Teaching Hospitals giving direct access to clinical colleagues, and they collaborate with researchers in Faculties from across the University. www.leeds.ac.uk

Yorkshire Dance Yorkshire Dance champions the value of dance and its development in Yorkshire. It does so by raising standards, increasing knowledge and understanding and fostering creativity and innovation.

It creates opportunities for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to see, make and take part in high quality dance that is rooted in their creativity, in their lives and in their communities, with the power to transform and inspire.

It creates opportunities for emerging and established artists and practitioners to research, create and present new contemporary work on the small scale, and in communities, developing their skills, expertise and networks.

It creates opportunities for people to experience dance by working with partners in local authorities and the arts, in health and in sport, building a regionwide infrastructure for dance development.

www.yorkshiredance.com @YorkshireDance www.facebook.com/yorkshiredance www.youtube.com/user/YorkshireDance instagram.com/yorkshiredancepictures

Yorkshire Dance Centre Trust Company Ltd

Registered 2319572 England

Registered Charity No. 701624

VAT No. 418 0193 70