Presentation at the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS) 31st Annual Conference - Denver Live, Dance For Health Special Interest Group Day, 24 October 2021

1. Dance as a health promotion tool
for mental health in the post-
COVID-19 era
Anastasia Paschali BA (Hons), LRAD, ARAD, MSc
Nicoletta P
. Lekka MD, MSc, PhD
International Association for Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS) 31st
Annual Conference - Denver Live
Dance For Health Special Interest Group Day, 24 October 2021

2. Anastasia Paschali and Nicoletta P Lekka have
no financial disclosures that would be a potential
conflict of interest with this presentation.

3. Outline
Health and wellbeing
Health promotion
Literature Reviews
COVID-19 and mental health
Dance and mental health
Dance interventions as additional COVID-19
global strategy

4. Health and Wellbeing
Health is a fundamental resource encompassing
physical, social and psychological dimensions
Health and well-being are accumulated throughout
life
They are determined by many factors outside health
systems, including socioeconomic conditions, social
and community networks and individual lifestyles
World Health Organisation [WHO] 1948, Marmot, M. et al 2010, Dahlgren, G. and Whitehead, M. 1991

5. Dahlgren & Whitehead, 1991

6. Health Promotion
Health promotion can lead to positive health
outcomes by empowering individuals and
communities to increase control over their health
Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, 1986

7. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion
Calls for action across
public policy, services,
environment,
individuals and
communities
Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, 1986

8. Dance and Health
There is existing evidence that dance relates to key
determinants of health from social, cultural, physical
and mental health perspectives
What are the benefits of dance interventions to mental
health in the post-COVID-19 era?

9. COVID-19 and Mental Health - Evidence
COVID-19 is heavily affecting global mental health
Increased levels of anxiety, depression, insomnia,
post-traumatic stress symptoms
A general negative impact on the population’s
mental health, particularly among healthcare workers
and vulnerable groups such as children/adolescents
Torales, J. et al 2020, Vindegaard, N. and Benros, M., 2020, Singh, S. et al 2020

10. Dance and Mental Health - Evidence
Dance is associated with stress prevention and
management,
Can have a positive impact on quality of life,
subjective well-being and body image
Can decrease depression and anxiety
Can improve interpersonal skills, self-expression, self-
esteem, self-confidence and self-motivation
Fancourt D. and Finn S, 2019

11. Dance and Mental Health - Evidence
Dance can help with mild–moderate mental illness in
children and adolescents, as it can reduce
internalizing symptoms such as anxiety and
depression
Can also help people with post-traumatic stress
disorder to build a healthy relationship with their
body, reducing perceived stress and increasing
movement
Fancourt D. and Finn S, 2019

12. Dance and Mental Health - Evidence
Dance may provide opportunities for building social
connections and improved mental well-being
Other examples include benefits to mental health in
dementia by reducing anxiety, and in patients with
cancer by reducing stress, anxiety and depression
and improving quality of life
Fancourt D. and Finn S, 2019, Bohn, J. and Hogue, S., 2020

13. Dance for Health and health promotion
Dance interventions such as ‘Dance for Health’ may
provide valuable opportunities for improved mental
health during/post-COVID-19
Furthermore, dance participation may act as a health
promotion tool for people at all life stages and health
levels

14. Using the Ottawa Charter to promote
Dance for Health
Enabling, mediating and advocating through
strengthening community action
Developing personal skills
Creating supportive environments for health

15. Using the Ottawa Charter to promote
Dance for Health
Re-orienting health services and building public
policy
Engaging dance educators, healthcare professionals,
researchers and the public

16. Dance interventions as additional COVID-
19 global strategy
Appropriate research
Collaborations
Clear healthcare/dance referral pathways
Introduction of dance-healthcare educational topics
in both dance and healthcare professional training
Enhancing understanding of benefits and maximising
access to dance programmes

17. What is the social value of dance?
– Changing perceptions
sportandrecreation.org.uk. 2021
 A wealth of first-hand
evidence, testifying to
the value movement
and dance delivers to
its participants, its
communities, and
society as a whole

18. European Dancehouse Network (EDN) report:
Recommendations
 National, regional and local authorities, in their respective
areas of competence, should take measures to foster access
to and participation in dance for everyone, as an exercise of
the right to take part in cultural life, as well as a contribution
to health and well-being
 Stakeholders in the dance field should identify opportunities
to develop projects that connect dance, health and well-being
Ednetwork.eu.2021

19. EDN report: Recommendations
Ednetwork.eu.2021
 Given the increasing evidence
about the connections between
dance, health and well-being…
more attention should be paid
to the development of policies
and programmes in these areas,
as well as accompanying
research and evaluation,
knowledge-transfer and
networking initiatives

20. References
 Bohn, J. and Hogue, S., 2020. Changing the Game: College Dance Training for Well-Being and Resilience
Amidst the COVID-19 Crisis. Health Promotion Practice, 22(2), pp.163-166.
 Dahlgren, G., & Whitehead, M. (1991). Policies and strategies to promote social equity in health: Background
document to WHO - Strategy paper for Europe. Arbetsrapport, Institute for Futures Studies, (14). Retrieved
from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/ifswps/2007_014.html
 Ednetwork.eu. 2021. EDN publishes “Dance and Well-being” Publication. [online] Available at:
<https://www.ednetwork.eu/news/edn-publication-dance-and-wellbeing> [Accessed 22 September 2021].
 Fancourt D. and Finn S, 2019. What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-
being?: A scoping review [Internet]. [online] PubMed. Available at:
<https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32091683/> [Accessed 26 February 2021].
 Marmot, M., Allen, J., Goldblatt, P., Boyce, T., McNeish, D., Grady, M., & Geddes, I. (2010). The Marmot
review: Fair society, healthy lives. London, England: UCL.
 Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. (1986). Health Promotion International, 1, 405-405.
https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/1.4.405

21. References
 Sheppard, Alexa, and Mary C. Broughton. “Promoting Wellbeing and Health through Active Participationin
Music and Dance: a Systematic Review.” International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-
Being, vol. 15, no. 1, 2020, p. 1732526., doi:10.1080/17482631.2020.1732526.
 Singh, S., Roy, D., Sinha, K., Parveen, S., Sharma, G. and Joshi, G., 2020. Impact of COVID-19 and lockdown
on mental health of children and adolescents: A narrative review with recommendations. Psychiatry
Research, 293, p.113429.
 sportandrecreation.org.uk. 2021. New report shines a light on the social value of movement and dance to
the UK. [online] Available at: <https://www.sportandrecreation.org.uk/news/industry/new-report-shines-
a-light-on-the-social-value> [Accessed 22 September 2021].
 Torales, J., O’Higgins, M., gCastaldelli-Maia, J. and Ventriglio, A., 2020. The outbreak of COVID-19
coronavirus and its impact on global mental health. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66(4), pp.317-
320.
 Vindegaard, N. and Benros, M., 2020. COVID-19 pandemic and mental health consequences: Systematic
review of the current evidence. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 89, pp.531-542.
 World Health Organisation [WHO]. (1948). Constitution of the World Health Organisation. Geneva,
Switzerland: Author. Retrieved from http://http://www.who.int/governance/eb/who_constitution_en.pdf

22. Thank you for listening!
Anastasia Paschali BA (Hons), LRAD, ARAD, MSc
T: @APaschali_
Dr Nicoletta P. Lekka MD, MSc, PhD
T: @nicoletta_lekka