草莓污视频导航

May 21, 2021

Organized dance activities help older adults suffering from COVID-19 loneliness, study finds

Pil Hansen and colleagues tout benefits of collaborative, memory-based interventions
Pil Hansen.
Pil Hansen is lead author on a study that shows the benefits of dance interventions on older adults. Pil Hansen

Older adults who are struggling with body issues often felt by aging populations and suffering from loneliness, made worse over the past year by the isolation of COVID-19, can benefit greatly from dance interventions, according to a 草莓污视频导航-authored pilot study in the journal .

鈥淲e found that collaborative, memory-based dance interventions have a positive effect on older adults in the areas of social inclusion and body appreciation,鈥 says Dr. Pil Hansen, PhD, an associate professor in the School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) and lead author of the study.

Dance interventions lead to new social connections, and given the negative impact of COVID-19 on aging populations we recommend such initiatives. They can help older adults regain the comfort levels and confidence necessary to make social connections again.

The interdisciplinary study 鈥斅爓hich partners 草莓污视频导航 researchers with Toronto dance company Kaeja d鈥橠ance 鈥斅爐ests the effects of organized dance activities that are 鈥渄esigned to facilitate embodied social connections鈥 among older adults. In this case, the dance activity Moving Connections was designed by Karen Kaeja. The co-authors of the study are MFA and MSc students Caitlin Main and Liza Hartling, with SCPA and the Werklund School of Education, respectively. Dr. Candace Konnert, PhD, head of the Department of Psychology鈥檚 Healthy Aging Lab, also provided consultation.

While the study began before the pandemic, with the interventions held in a dance studio, the coming of COVID-19 necessitated a significant pivot, with Kaeja d鈥橠ance moving the dances online, via Zoom, and to Toronto parks where social distancing could be maintained.

Karen Kaeja's Moving Connections, taught by Irma Villafuerte

Karen Kaeja's Moving Connections, taught by Irma Villafluerte. Dance interventions like these have proven to have a great benefit to older adults suffering from loneliness, enhanced during COVID-19.

Courtesy Kaeja d'Dance

With the guidance of professional dancers, participants created movements and choreography that expressed their respective autobiographical memories of meeting and connecting with a new person.

鈥淥ne participant talked about the first moment someone special caught her heart,鈥 says Hansen. 鈥淪he created three gestures representing that moment. These gestures could be made with any part of the body. The gestures were then blended together into one fluid movement phrase, those phrases becoming part of a larger choreography.鈥

Hansen explains that every participant in the group learns each other鈥檚 gestures and shares their deeper meanings. 鈥淲hat happens is that through the dance participants connect with each other鈥檚 memories,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t brings them together in a deep and meaningful way.鈥

The dance interventions also have great value in helping older adults feel better about their bodies, Hansen adds.

鈥淚n our society aging bodies are considered less attractive and less valuable and that鈥檚 often internalized by older adults,鈥 says Hansen. 鈥淭hey begin to believe this about themselves.鈥

Of course, as bodies age there is often 鈥渁 loss of physical capacity,鈥 notes Hansen. 鈥淵ou may have less mobility or a fear of falling and feel like you can鈥檛 dance because, maybe, you have to sit in a chair while doing so. All of this can present barriers.鈥

However, with dance interventions specifically tailored for each participant, these barriers can be overcome, Hansen says. 鈥淲hen they鈥檙e interacting with one another in this way, older adults begin to feel strength in these new connections, being able to express their personal memories with their bodies. Seeing those personal memories expressed by their fellow dancers is also very impactful. Attention is shifted from a negative experience of the body to one that is positive and empowering.鈥

Given the positive effects the study documents, with dance interventions improving body appreciation and leading to new social connections among older adults 鈥斅爀ven as COVID-19 enhanced their isolation 鈥斅燞ansen recommends that such methods could be widely used.

鈥淚 could see this being introduced in seniors' homes and community health centres,鈥 she says. 鈥淭he interventions could be adapted to the needs of specific seniors' groups, for example, those with dementia, Alzheimer鈥檚 or Parkinson鈥檚 disease.鈥

鈥淭hese dance interventions have a lot to offer older adults who have much to overcome. Especially in the midst of a pandemic, as vaccines roll out.鈥 聽

The research in this study was funded by SSHRC and the Faculty of Arts. The dance program was funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.