Dance as Prevention of Late Life Functional Decline Among Nursing Home Residents.

Late life deterioration of functional status is associated with adverse health outcomes and increased cost of care. This trial was conducted to determine whether dance-based intervention could reverse functional decline among nursing home (NH) residents. A total of 189 residents of seven NHs in the Czech Republic were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. More detailed data were collected in a subsample of 52 participants. Intervention consisted of 3-month dance-based exercise. Functional status was assessed by the get-up-and-go test, basic activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and senior fitness tests (SFTs). Participants in the control group experienced a significant decline in get-up-and-go test, IADL, and in four of the six SFTs. The intervention proved to be effective in preventing this deterioration and improved chair stand test and chair sit-and-reach test. The findings indicate that a relatively simple dance-based exercise can slow down deterioration of functional status in NH residents.

The effect of dance on depressive symptoms in nursing home residents.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of a dance-based therapy on depressive symptoms among institutionalized older adults. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Nursing homes. PARTICIPANTS: Older adults (60 years or older) permanently living in a nursing home. INTERVENTION: Exercise Dance for Seniors (EXDASE) Program designed for the use in long-term care settings performed once a week for 60 minutes for 3 months. MEASUREMENTS: Baseline measures included sociodemographic characteristics, ability to perform basic as well as instrumental activities of daily living, basic mobility, self-rated health, and cognitive status. Outcome measures were collected before and after the intervention and included assessment of depressive symptoms using the geriatric depression scale (GDS). RESULTS: Comparison of participants with MMSE of 15 or higher showed that GDS scores in the intervention group significantly improved (P = .005), whereas the control group had a trend of further worsening of depressive symptoms (P = .081). GLM analysis documented highly statistically significant effect of dance therapy (P = .001) that was not influenced by controlling for intake of antidepressants and nursing home location. Dance therapy may have decreased depressive symptoms even in participants with MMSE lower than 15 and resulted in more discontinuations and fewer prescriptions of antidepressants in the intervention group than in the control group. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence that dance-based exercise can reduce the amount of depressive symptoms in nursing home residents. In general, this form of exercise seems to be very suitable and beneficial for this population.

Effect of the Exercise Dance for Seniors (EXDASE) program on lower-body functioning among institutionalized older adults.

OBJECTIVE: The authors conducted a randomized control trial to examine the effect of the Exercise Dance for Seniors (EXDASE) program on lower-body functioning among older individuals from residential care facilities in the Czech Republic. METHOD: Participants were randomly assigned into an experimental or control group. The experimental group completed a 3-month EXDASE program. Lower-body functioning was assessed using four performance-based measures. A 2 (group) x 2 (test) general linear model for repeated measures was used to explore whether differences in performance could be attributed to the intervention. RESULTS: The authors found Group x Test interactions for the chair stand test, F(1, 50) = 14.37, p < .001, the 2-minute step test, F(1, 50) = 7.33, p = .009, the chair sit-and-reach test, F(1, 50) = 5.28, p = .026, and the timed up-and-go test, F (1, 44) = 6.59, p = .014, indicating that the experimental group outperformed the control group from pretest to posttest. DISCUSSION: A relatively simple dance-based exercise can support lower-body functioning in previously sedentary, frail older adults.

Functional status and depressive symptoms among older adults from residential care facilities in the Czech Republic.

BACKGROUND: Depressive symptoms are common among older adults, particularly those living in long-term care facilities. However, little is known about factors associated with depressive symptoms among long-term care residents in the Czech Republic and in other Eastern European countries. Moreover, the role of mobility and pain in depressive symptoms among long-term care residents is relatively understudied. OBJECTIVE: We examined the relationship between functional status and depressive symptoms in 308 older adults from residential care facilities (RCFs) in the Czech Republic. METHOD: We used baseline data from two randomized controlled trials testing the effects of dance and reminiscence therapies on quality of life in older RCF residents. Functional status was measured as cognitive function, general ability to perform basic Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), mobility, and functional limitation by pain. Depressive symptoms were measured using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale. RESULTS: In multiple regression analyses adjusted for sociodemographic factors and taking antidepressants, we found that cognitive function and functional limitation by pain were most strongly associated with depressive symptoms. The ability to perform basic ADLs and mobility were also related to depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest factors that may be important in efforts to improve psychological well-being in this population.