Dance therapy and free dance with a focus on the psychological aspects of patients in adjuvant treatment of breast cancer - study protocol for randomized clinical trial

ABSTRACT

Abstract Aim: To propose a dance therapy and free dance protocol for women undergoing adjuvant treatment of breast cancer and to compare its effectiveness with the control group and the healthy group. Method: Protocol for a 12-week randomized clinical trial with a frequency of 2 times at progressive intensity, in which the participants will be allocated into 4 groups (a) dance therapy intervention; (b) free dance intervention; (c) control group and (d) healthy group. Information related to personal and clinical characteristics as well as psychological aspects will be collected. The primary outcome will be analyzed through depressive symptoms while secondary outcomes include the variables body image, anxiety, mood, perceived stress, and optimism. Assessments will be carried out in the pre-intervention period (baseline) and after 12 weeks of intervention in all groups. Discussion: As a hypothesis, there are improvements in psychological aspects after dance therapy interventions and free dance, reaching the level of healthy women, given the benefits of that protocol.