Mindful Kala: Virtual Bharatanatyam Wellness Program for Students

Mindful Kala: Investigating the Psychosocial Effects of a 4-Week Virtual Bharatanatyam Intervention for Students

In the current study, the researchers propose to develop and pilot test a Bharatanatyam (i.e. Indian classical dance) program called Mindful Kala with the hopes of decreasing stress and increasing psychosocial well-being, mindfulness, cultural competence, and connectedness amongst a group of college students. The investigators hope that this program can help students cultivate well-being during the challenging and stressful time of COVID-19.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Quality of Life; Stress; Cultural Competence
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: A 4-week Bharatanatyam course from the organization Mindful Kala

Detailed Description

Objectives:

1. Evaluate the effects of the Mindful Kala program on outcomes of health-related measures such as mindfulness, stress, connectedness, and wellbeing amongst students. The investigators hypothesize that participants will experience fewer symptoms of stress, increased mindfulness, increased well-being, and increased connectedness.
2. Evaluate the effects of the Mindful Kala program on changes in measures of cultural competence. The investigators hypothesize that the level of cultural competence will increase among the students.
3. Develop and examine the feasibility and acceptability of a 4-week Mindful Kala program for college students.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 53
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Connecticut
    • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06511
      • Good Life Center, Yale University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Yale student
• 18 years of age or older
• Must complete all survey measures
• Is available for all of the designated Session One & Session Two dates and times
• Attends all of the designated Session One & Session Two dates and times

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not a Yale student
• Not 18 years of age or older
• Does not complete all survey measures
• Is not available for all of the designated Session One & Session Two dates and times
• Does not attend all of the designated Session One & Session Two dates and times

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Session One; Session One participants undergo the 4-week course from 2/21/2021 to 3/15/2021	Behavioral: A 4-week Bharatanatyam course from the organization Mindful Kala; The 4-week Mindful Kala program focuses on three components of Bharatanatyam: nritta (i.e. technical movements), natya (i.e. storytelling), and nritya (i.e. a combination of movements and narration; nritta + natya).
Experimental: Session Two; Session Two participants undergo the 4-week course from 3/22/2021 to 4/12/2021	Behavioral: A 4-week Bharatanatyam course from the organization Mindful Kala; The 4-week Mindful Kala program focuses on three components of Bharatanatyam: nritta (i.e. technical movements), natya (i.e. storytelling), and nritya (i.e. a combination of movements and narration; nritta + natya).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in stress from Mindful Kala Intervention	A primary objective of this study is to determine whether the Mindful Kala program reduces student stress levels. This will be measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (min = 0; max = 4) which consists of 10 scale items. The higher the score, the more likely participants are stressed. Participants who received the intervention in Session One will be compared to the control (Session Two).	Baseline, 4 weeks
Change in subjective well-being from Mindful Kala Intervention	A primary objective of this study is to determine whether the Mindful Kala program increases subjective well-being. This will be measured by the PERMA Scale (min = 0; max = 10) which consists of 15 scale items. The higher the score, the higher participant well-being. Participants who received the intervention in Session One will be compared to the control (Session Two).	Baseline, 4 weeks
Change in mindful awareness from Mindful Kala Intervention	A primary objective of this study is to determine whether the Mindful Kala program increases mindful awareness of the present moment. This will be measured by the State Mindfulness Scale for Physical Activity (min = 0; max = 4) which consists of 11 scale items. The higher the score, the more mindful participants are. Participants who received the intervention in Session One will be compared to the control (Session Two).	Baseline, 4 weeks
Change in cultural competence from Mindful Kala Intervention	A primary objective of this study is to determine whether the Mindful Kala program increases cultural competence. This will be measured by the Cultural Competencies Self-Assessment Survey (min = 0; max = 5) which consists of 26 scale items. The higher the score, the more culturally competent participants are. Participants who received the intervention in Session One will be compared to the control (Session Two).	Baseline, 4 weeks
Change in connectedness from Mindful Kala Intervention	A primary objective of this study is to determine whether the Mindful Kala program increases connectedness. This will be measured by one question asking questions how connected they feel to the Yale community (min = 1; max = 5). The higher the score, the more connected participants feel. Participants who received the intervention in Session One will be compared to the control (Session Two).	Baseline, 4 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Longitudinal Impact of Mindful Kala on Stress	A secondary objective of this study is to determine whether the Mindful Kala intervention resulted in a longitudinal decrease in stress for Session One participants. This outcome is measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (min = 0; max = 4) which consists of 10 scale items. The higher the score, the more stressed participants are.	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Longitudinal Impact of Mindful Kala on Well-Being	A secondary objective of this study is to determine whether the Mindful Kala intervention resulted in a longitudinal increase in well-being for Session One participants. This outcome is measured by the PERMA Scale (min = 0; max = 10) which consists of 15 scale items. The higher the score, the higher well-being participants have.	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Longitudinal Impact of Mindful Kala on Mindfulness	A secondary objective of this study is to determine whether the Mindful Kala intervention resulted in a longitudinal increase in mindfulness for Session One participants. This outcome is measured by the Mindfulness Scale for Physical Activity (min = 0; max = 4) which consists of 11 scale items. The higher the score, the more mindful participants are.	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Longitudinal Impact of Mindful Kala on Cultural Competence	A secondary objective of this study is to determine whether the Mindful Kala intervention resulted in a longitudinal increase in cultural competence for Session One participants. This outcome is measured by the Cultural Competencies Self-Assessment Survey (min = 0; max = 5) which consists of 26 scale items. The higher the score, the more culturally competent participants are.	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks
Longitudinal Impact of Mindful Kala on Connectedness	A secondary objective of this study is to determine whether the Mindful Kala intervention resulted in a longitudinal increase in connectedness for Session One participants. This outcome is measured by one question asking questions how connected they feel to the Yale community (min = 1; max = 5). The higher the score, the more connected participants feel.	Baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility & Acceptability of Mindful Kala	A tertiary objective of this study is to determine the feasibility & acceptability of the Mindful Kala program for college students. This will be measured by asking participants the Feasibility & Acceptability scale (min = 1; max = 5) which consists of 2 scale items, 2 open-ended questions, and 4 multiple choice questions. The higher the score on the scale items, the more participants enjoyed their experience in the Mindful Kala program and the more likely they are to practice Bharatanatyam on their own.	8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Yale University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Laurie Santos, Doctorate, Yale University; Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Goldfarb, Doctorate, Yale University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Khalsa SB, Butzer B. Yoga in school settings: a research review. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2016 Jun;1373(1):45-55. doi: 10.1111/nyas.13025. Epub 2016 Feb 25.
• Koch SC, Riege RFF, Tisborn K, Biondo J, Martin L, Beelmann A. Effects of Dance Movement Therapy and Dance on Health-Related Psychological Outcomes. A Meta-Analysis Update. Front Psychol. 2019 Aug 20;10:1806. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01806. eCollection 2019.
• Son C, Hegde S, Smith A, Wang X, Sasangohar F. Effects of COVID-19 on College Students' Mental Health in the United States: Interview Survey Study. J Med Internet Res. 2020 Sep 3;22(9):e21279. doi: 10.2196/21279.
• Tavormina R, Tavormina MGM. Overcoming Depression with Dance Movement Therapy: A Case Report. Psychiatr Danub. 2018 Nov;30(Suppl 7):515-520.
• Misra S, Le PD, Goldmann E, Yang LH. Psychological impact of anti-Asian stigma due to the COVID-19 pandemic: A call for research, practice, and policy responses. Psychol Trauma. 2020 Jul;12(5):461-464. doi: 10.1037/tra0000821. Epub 2020 Jun 11.

Helpful Links

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Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 4, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 12, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): April 12, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 3, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 3, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): February 9, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 21, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 17, 2021
• Last Verified: June 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 2000029766

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