None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This project aims to evaluate whether the “Ballet for Brain Injury” program can be effectively delivered online to people living with acquired brain injury in regional and rural Queensland. People with brain injury often experience social isolation and reduced wellbeing and access to supportive community programs can be limited outside metropolitan areas. The study will recruit adults living with brain injury who are medically stable and living in the community. Participants will take part in a 10-week ballet-based movement program delivered either online via telehealth or in person in Brisbane. Weekly group classes will be led by trained dance instructors. We will measure quality of life, participation in meaningful activities, safety, and participants’ perspectives of the program. The expected outcome is to determine whether the telehealth version of the program is safe, acceptable, and practical to deliver, helping inform future expansion of accessible wellbeing programs.
Interventions
Participants in the intervention group will receive 10 x 45 minute weekly online sessions of Queensland Ballet's (QB) 'Ballet for Brain Injury' dance intervention over 10 weeks via live videoconferencing into the participant's home. These sessions will be delivered in a group format (maximum of 10 participants per session) by a Dance Teaching Artist employed by QB. The tailored dance intervention is designed specifically for people living with brain injury. Modified ballet movements will incorpo
Participants in the intervention group will receive 10 x 45 minute weekly online sessions of Queensland Ballet's (QB) 'Ballet for Brain Injury' dance intervention over 10 weeks via live videoconferencing into the participant's home. These sessions will be delivered in a group format (maximum of 10 participants per session) by a Dance Teaching Artist employed by QB. The tailored dance intervention is designed specifically for people living with brain injury. Modified ballet movements will incorporate held positions and dynamic movements of upper limbs, torso and lower limbs, weight shifting, multidirectional stepping, balance activities, dual task activities, motor sequencing prompts and functional transitions. These sessions will be delivered at low to moderate intensity and monitored by the talk test [between a point where participants can comfortably talk without restriction (low intensity), and where they can talk but not sing (moderate intensity)]. The class structure and exercises will be similar for the telehealth and in-person groups, with only slight modifications to the telehealth group in consideration of both the online space and at home environment they will be participating in. The Ballet for Brain Injury program is designed to help people living with brain injury to re-inhabit their bodies and cope with emotional, cognitive and physical impairments that can result from brain injury. Each session will last for 45 minutes, with the first 15 minutes allocated for introduction and set-up. Email reminders will be sent to participants prior to each class to promote attendance and adherence. Prospective monitoring of videoconference attendance records will assess intervention adherence (sessions scheduled / sessions attended). Participants will be allocated to the telehealth group if they reside in a regional, rural or remote area of Queensland and fit the TELE-BRAIN inclusion criteria, and the in-person group if they reside in Brisbane and fit the in-person Ballet for Brain Injury class inclusion criteria.
Sponsors
The University of Queensland
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria for telehealth participants: 1. Living with an acquired brain injury, medically stable, and >6 months post-injury. 2. Living in a home/community setting. 3. Survivors of brain cancer and stroke may also be included in this feasibility study. 4. Participants and their caregivers residing in a rural/regional area (MM2 or higher using the Modified Monash Model) in Queensland. 5. Willing to participate in a telehealth version of a ‘Ballet for Brain Injury’ 10-week intervention. 6. Have access to a mobile device or computer hardware with Internet access and webcam capability suitable for telehealth. 7. Are aged 18 and above Inclusion criteria for in-person participants: 1. Living with an acquired brain injury, medically stable, and >6 months post-injury. 2. Living in a home/community setting. 3. Survivors of brain cancer and stroke may also be included in this feasibility study. 4. Willing to participate in-person in a 10-week ‘Ballet for Brain Injury’ class intervention in West End, Brisbane. 5. Are aged 18 and above
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria for telehealth and in-person participants: 1. Any medical condition in which exercise or physical activity could be contraindicated (e.g. vertigo, heart disease, late-stage pregnancy). 2. Significant cognitive or communication impairment preventing the understanding of basic instructions or English expression. 3. Substantial history and experience with ‘Ballet for Brain Injury’ in-person classes facilitated by Queensland Ballet (=4 sessions over the last 12 months). 4. Participant unable to provide informed consent of their own accord
Outcome results
None listed