The effectiveness of social dancing as a strategy to prevent falls in older people

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The study will determine whether participating in 12 months social dancing can reduce the incidence of falls and improve physiological performance and cognitive tasks that are associated with greater risk of falling. A cluster randomised controlled trial of 28 self care retirement villages is proposed. Villages will be eligible to take part in the study if they: have at least 60 independent residents; have a common facility area for dancing; do not currently offer dance classes; and provide written consent to the study. Agreeing villages will be randomised 1:1 to intervention or control group. Participants in the 14 control sites will receive no intervention for 12 months, except mailing of educational materials on healthy ageing. They will be offered the same dance program free of charge at the end of the study. In the intervention sites a twice-weekly one-hour ballroom dancing (7 sites) or folk dancing (7 sites) class will be offered. Dance instructors will receive workshops to standardise program delivery across sites. Recruitment will be staggered over a 12 month period. Eligible participants will undergo a 1 hr baseline assessment session, which will comprise a structured interview, psychological and physiological tests. The same measurements will be repeated at 12 month follow-up. A falls diary will be collected each month by mail from all participants. Participants with missing diaries will be contacted by phone. To monitor changes in activity levels, participants will be asked to complete a self-report physical activity questionnaire at 6 months. To assess the intensity level of the dance class, participants will be asked to wear accelerometers periodically. The cost effectiveness of this intervention will also be evaluated at 3 months and 12 months.