Feasibility of a remote dance intervention for institutionalized older people with cognitive impairment

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundDance therapy has recently been proposed as a non‐pharmaceutical strategy to improve cognitive decline in people with Dementia or MCI, as well as to improve certain psychosocial aspects such as quality of life, mood and functionality. Due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, most older people living in long‐term care institutions have had their activities of daily living – such as physical therapy and other activity groups – interrupted to preserve social distancing rules. Therefore, the aim of this study was to create a dance therapy program that could be implemented as a remote intervention for older people living in a long‐term institution who had Mild Cognitive Decline (MCI) or Dementia.MethodA selection of older people, living in a long‐term institution in the city of Juiz de Fora, Brazil, diagnosed with MCI and Dementia, was made. To achieve this objective, the medical records of the residents were analyzed and screening tests such as the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) and, as a secondary measure, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were applied.ResultAfter the screening process, the program was planned with the help of a certified Senior Dance instructor, in order to arrange choreographies that were safe for all participants and could be performed remotely. In total, the program had 29 sessions, which spanned a period of 15 weeks, twice a week. There was an intervention group consisting of five participants with MCI or Dementia. A social worker of the institution helped with the choreography, in person, and a group of seven undergraduate students from different backgrounds (psychology, medicine and music) took turns conducting the remote sessions.ConclusionThe remote program was extremely well received by its participants and by the caregivers of the institution: they reported that the participants were waiting for the sessions and that their disposition and mood improved significantly since the beginning of the intervention. This allowed us to conclude that the creation of a remote dance program was not only feasible, but that it can promote mental and cognitive health in institutionalized older people with cognitive impairment. Thus, this strategy should be better explored by these institutions.