Cognitive Impairment, Mental Status Change, Physical Activity, Quality of Life, Self-Perception, Social Isolation
Conditions
Keywords
Dance, Music, Social Conversation
Brief summary
The purpose of this community-engaged project is to examine how taking part in different arts (dance & music), compared to control (no arts) affects older adults' Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL using the Short Form-20(SF) form), physical performance (Short Physical Performance Battery-SPPB), cognition (using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment-MoCA), social engagement (National Social Life, Health, & Aging Project-NSHAP survey), and perceptions of self (focus interviews).
Detailed description
In this Randomized-Controlled-Trial, 60 adults (20/condition) will take part in 20, 45-minute sessions (ballroom dance, ukulele/guitar playing, or control- i.e. social conversation), 2 times/week for 10 weeks. While the investigators know that arts participation improves function in older adults, exact effects of different arts programs on health outcomes remains unclear. The investigators plan to fill this gap by studying how different arts participation affect health outcomes. The overall aim is to study how arts engagement helps older adults remain active and influences physical, psychological, and emotional functioning.
Interventions
OTHERActive Social Conversation
Active Social Conversation
Sponsors
National Endowment for the Arts, United States
George Mason University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
65 Years to 100 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Be healthy, * \> 65 years of age and able to take part in learning music, or ballroom dance.
Exclusion criteria
* Presence of a co-morbid mental health diagnosis or other physical or behavioral challenges that the study staff assess as rendering the participant unable or unsafe to participate in the study.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Physical Performance using the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) | Pre (Week 0), Post 1 (Week 10) and Post 2 (Week 15) Intervention | The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) is an assessment tool for evaluation of lower extremity functioning in older persons. In this tool, participants will perform the 3 SPPB components: 1) Ability to stand for 10 sec with feet in 3 different positions (together side-by-side, semi-tandem, and tandem), 2) Two timed trials of a 4-m walk (fastest recorded), and 3) Time to rise from a chair five times. The subtests are scored from 0-4. The overall SPPB is scored from 0 (Minimum) to 12 (Maximum score) with higher scores indicating better lower extremity function. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Cognition using Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) survey | Pre (Week 0), Post 1 (Week 10) and Post 2 (Week 15) Intervention | The Montreal Cognition Assessment (MoCA) is a brief, 30-question test designed as a rapid screening instrument for mild cognitive dysfunction. It assesses different cognitive domains: attention and concentration, executive functions, memory, language, visuoconstructional skills, conceptual thinking, calculations, and orientation. MoCA scores range between 0-30. A score of 26 or over is considered normal. |
| Change in Self-Perception Post Intervention Focus Interview | Post 1 (Week 10) and Post 2 (Week 15) Intervention | In these interviews participants discuss how they self-perceive any physical, mental, and social changes they underwent as a result of taking part in the interventions |
| Change in Social Connections using the Social Connections Survey | Post 1 (Week 10) and Post 2 (Week 15) Intervention | Participants complete questions from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) measure perceived social connection and isolation. These questions ask participants about 1) Support from partner (we are using 3 of the 6 questions); 2) Support from family (we are using 3 of the 5 questions); 3) Support from friends (we are using 3 of the 5 questions). All questions are on a 4-point frequency range from never to often, except for 2 questions. Question #1 construct one is on a 7-point scale from very unhappy to very happy and question #5 construct two is on a 6-point scale from none to more than 20. The 7 items with the same frequency anchors will be summed; the other two items will be analyzed as one-item indicators. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed