Effects of Arts Engagement on Physical Performance, Cognition, Social Isolation, and Self-Perception in Older Adults (SHARe)

Effects of Arts Engagement Programs on Physical Performance, Cognition, Social Isolation, and Self Perception in Older Adults

The purpose of this community-engaged project is to examine how taking part in different arts (dance & music), compared to control (no arts) affects older adults' Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL using the Short Form-20(SF) form), physical performance (Short Physical Performance Battery-SPPB), cognition (using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment-MoCA), social engagement (National Social Life, Health, & Aging Project-NSHAP survey), and perceptions of self (focus interviews).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Quality of Life; Physical Activity; Cognitive Impairment; Self-Perception; Social Isolation; Mental Status Change
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Active Social Conversation

Detailed Description

In this Randomized-Controlled-Trial, 60 adults (20/condition) will take part in 20, 45-minute sessions (ballroom dance, ukulele/guitar playing, or control- i.e. social conversation), 2 times/week for 10 weeks.

While the investigators know that arts participation improves function in older adults, exact effects of different arts programs on health outcomes remains unclear.

The investigators plan to fill this gap by studying how different arts participation affect health outcomes.

The overall aim is to study how arts engagement helps older adults remain active and influences physical, psychological, and emotional functioning.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 64
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Virginia
    • Manassas, Virginia, United States, 20110
      • Hylton Performing Arts Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 65 years to 100 years (OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Be healthy,
• > 65 years of age and able to take part in learning music, or ballroom dance.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Presence of a co-morbid mental health diagnosis or other physical or behavioral challenges that the study staff assess as rendering the participant unable or unsafe to participate in the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Ballroom Dance; The Dance group participants will take part in ballroom dance lessons twice/week for 45-minutes/session for 10 weeks	Other: Active Social Conversation; Active Social Conversation; Other Names: Active Control
EXPERIMENTAL: Ukulele; The Music group participants will take part in ukulele lessons twice/week for 45-minutes/session for 10 weeks	Other: Active Social Conversation; Active Social Conversation; Other Names: Active Control
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Control; The Control group participants will meet 2 times per week for 45-minutes/session for 10 weeks to participate in a social conversational group for 10 weeks	Other: Active Social Conversation; Active Social Conversation; Other Names: Active Control

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Physical Performance using the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB)	The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) is an assessment tool for evaluation of lower extremity functioning in older persons. In this tool, participants will perform the 3 SPPB components: 1) Ability to stand for 10 sec with feet in 3 different positions (together side-by-side, semi-tandem, and tandem), 2) Two timed trials of a 4-m walk (fastest recorded), and 3) Time to rise from a chair five times. The subtests are scored from 0-4. The overall SPPB is scored from 0 (Minimum) to 12 (Maximum score) with higher scores indicating better lower extremity function.	Pre (Week 0), Post 1 (Week 10) and Post 2 (Week 15) Intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Cognition using Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) survey	The Montreal Cognition Assessment (MoCA) is a brief, 30-question test designed as a rapid screening instrument for mild cognitive dysfunction. It assesses different cognitive domains: attention and concentration, executive functions, memory, language, visuoconstructional skills, conceptual thinking, calculations, and orientation. MoCA scores range between 0-30. A score of 26 or over is considered normal.	Pre (Week 0), Post 1 (Week 10) and Post 2 (Week 15) Intervention
Change in Self-Perception Post Intervention Focus Interview	In these interviews participants discuss how they self-perceive any physical, mental, and social changes they underwent as a result of taking part in the interventions	Post 1 (Week 10) and Post 2 (Week 15) Intervention
Change in Social Connections using the Social Connections Survey	Participants complete questions from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) measure perceived social connection and isolation. These questions ask participants about 1) Support from partner (we are using 3 of the 6 questions); 2) Support from family (we are using 3 of the 5 questions); 3) Support from friends (we are using 3 of the 5 questions). All questions are on a 4-point frequency range from "never" to "often", except for 2 questions. Question #1 construct one is on a 7-point scale from "very unhappy to "very happy" and question #5 construct two is on a 6-point scale from "none" to "more than 20". The 7 items with the same frequency anchors will be summed; the other two items will be analyzed as one-item indicators.	Post 1 (Week 10) and Post 2 (Week 15) Intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: George Mason University
• Collaborators: National Endowment for the Arts, United States
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jatin P Ambegaonkar, PhD, George Mason University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): September 1, 2019
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): April 25, 2020
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): April 26, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 29, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 21, 2020
• First Posted (ACTUAL): February 24, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): March 4, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 16, 2022
• Last Verified: February 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Music; Dance; Social Conversation
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1428455-1

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No