Arts & Health最新文献

Background: The present paper aimed to study handgrip strength (HGS) asymmetry and its association with hypertension in a sample of Kathak dancers and non-dancers of North India.

Methods: Data on HGS and blood pressure were collected from 206 Kathak dancers and 235 age-matched controls, using standardized protocols. Pearson correlation coefficients assessed the association between HGS and hypertension, and binary logistic regression identified the risk of developing hypertension.

Results: HGS asymmetry was higher among non-dancers. In Kathak dancers, systolic blood pressure (SBP) was positively correlated with HGS and negatively correlated with HGS asymmetry whereas diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was negatively correlated with both HGS and HGS asymmetry. Dancers with high HGS, have significantly reduced risk of developing hypertension. Non-dancers with HGS asymmetry were 1.8 times more likely to report hypertension, relative to dancers.

Conclusion: Kathak may be used as an alternative method for maintaining HGS symmetry and reducing the risk of developing hypertension.

Background: The intentions of this scoping review are to determine current uses of visual arts-based interventions for mental health and trauma support of marginalized populations, and to identify current gaps in knowledge in this emergent field.

Method: Six databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, PsycINFO, JSTOR) were searched for relevant studies. Following the PRISMA guidelines, 38 articles met the inclusion criteria.

Results: Most interventions focused on improving the mental health of participants, or to provide opportunities for participants to process their experiences of mental health. Participants reported increased well-being, experiences of relaxation and/or distraction, and processing of mental health experiences. They perceived arts-based interventions as helpful and developed mutual social support with other participants.

Conclusion: Arts-based interventions have the potential to inform the development of culturally safe and relevant mental health care for marginalized populations beyond current mainstream mental health practices.

Background: In Malawi, well-meaning HIV and AIDS interventions imagined in the "Global North" continue to ignore how local people construct the world. This paper explores how folk media can be used to enable research on HIV and AIDS to be positioned within localised cultural paradigms.

Methods: Drawing on Chewa epistemology, I used folk media methods supported by participant observation. The research was conducted in three phases over 15 days in two rural communities and captured the workshop processes, participants' process reviews, verbal journals and creative outputs through pictures, audio and video recordings, field notes and reflections. Data was analysed thematically.

Finding: Folk media can be used to structure research, to facilitate a conducive environment for research practice, as data and as a method for the generation of data/knowledge.

Conclusions: Folk media can be a strong, replicable, culturally grounded, decolonizing research methodology that promotes collaboration and the deconstruction of power relations.

Background: In the context of ongoing underrepresentation of disabled people and shifts in the theatre industry, this article examines the significance of personal disability understandings and how these are interpreted in relation to the wellbeing of disabled people in theatre.

Methods: The findings presented are part of an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis; an interdisciplinary study detailing experiences of theatre practice and disability among professional actors and directors in theatres that are funded by Arts Council England.

Results: One of the six emergent themes from interviews, Navigating Inexperience of Disability in Theatre, assists in considering disability understandings and aspects of actors' wellbeing in this article. It details interpersonal and emotional competencies required of disabled people in day-to-day practice; these relate to confidence, risk, empathy, compromise, value, and contribution.

Conclusions: Routes to building accessibility in theatre are proposed as a shared and personal endeavour; value is placed on learning from disability as crucial in preserving wellbeing, creativity, and effective arts practices across disabled and non-disabled communities.

Background: The dance workforce plays a central role in delivering arts and health programmes yet there is little exploration of how programme delivery impacts dance artists in a professional or personal capacity. This study explored the experiences of dance artists delivering Dance On, which engages inactive older people 55yrs+.

Methods: Ripple Effects Mapping was used to explore the short- and long term experiences and practices of dance artists delivering a dance programme.

Findings: Two ripples were developed 1) Becoming a specialist 2) Connecting with communities. These ripples highlighted the strengths of the sustained nature of the programme and emphasised the need for ongoing support from employing organisations, communities, and dance artist peers.

Conclusion: This study showcases the central role dance artists play in upholding the outcomes we observe in arts and health work - their role, expertise, and commitment to programmes should be further illuminated and supported through ongoing discourse about their practice.

Background: Learning from the challenges and successes of online arts delivery during the pandemic is crucially important for considering long-term sustainable solutions that enable people living with dementia to remotely participate in meaningful activities.

Methods: Twenty-eight arts workers responded to an online survey exploring i) the meaning of face-to-face arts activities that were replicated online, ii) perceived motivations to attend, iii) successes and challenges in adapting arts for online/socially distanced setting.

Results: Responses described arts giving structure and purpose to people living with dementia and their carers, a sense of community, and a way to reduce physical isolation. Success on digital delivery of arts depended on how inclusive practices were in relation to different abilities, technology experience and support levels.

Conclusions: Despite challenges, the range of interactions across activities demonstrated various ways for people living with dementia to make a contribution, feeding into the feelings of purpose and belonging in the online/digital community.

Background: Line dancing is a popular form of exercise shown to affect balance and mood positively. However, few studies examine its effectiveness in multiple sclerosis (MS). The study aims to investigate the effects of line dancing on balance, mood, and health-related quality of life in MS.

Methods: Participants were randomized into the line dance (n =15) and the control groups (n =16). Outcomes were measured using the Berg Balance Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 (MSQoL-54) at baseline and post intervention.

Results: Post-intervention in the line dancing group, significant improvements were observed in balance, anxiety status, and health-related quality of life. When the groups were compared, significant differences were found in balance, anxiety, and the mental health composite of the MSQoL-54.

Conclusion: This study recommends the use of line dancing as a therapeutic intervention in MS. Nevertheless, comparisons with different intervention approaches and follow-up studies are needed.

Introduction: Tobacco and nicotine use are prevalent in residential substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs that serve pregnant and parenting women. This study evaluated a group intervention that integrates knitting instruction, psychoeducation, and social support to improve readiness to quit and reduce tobacco and nicotine use among this population.

Methods: Clients and staff in four residential SUD treatment programs were assigned to a six-week group intervention or a wait-list control group. Intervention implementation and preliminary effectiveness were assessed using surveys, interviews, and observational measures.

Results: From pre- to post-test, knowledge related to tobacco and nicotine use increased and number of cigarettes smoked per day and nicotine dependence decreased, on average. Additionally, the intervention group reported lower levels of nicotine dependence relative to the control group. Participants described knitting as an enjoyable replacement for smoking and a strategy to regulate stress and emotions.

Conclusions: Smoking cessation interventions that include knitting are promising and warrant further testing.

Background: This paper explores the opportunities that creative, nature-based activities offer for mobilising social connections via community-centred approaches to improve individual and collective wellbeing.

Methods: The study involved ethnographic methods and data was gathered from a nature for wellbeing project implemented in a rural village in North East England.

Results: The findings indicate creative, nature-based activities delivered within an environment marked by an ethic of care and kindness enabled the project to engage with participants at individual and collective levels simultaneously, which enhanced the project's ability to mobilise community skills and assets, and affect connectedness, equity and control within social groups facing significant disadvantages.

Conclusion: Creative, nature-based activities, delivered with an ethic of care, present an opportunity to recognise and engage complex and, at times, opposing undercurrents inherent in social connections between individuals and social groups.