Digital Dance for People With Parkinson's Disease During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Digital Dance for People With Parkinson's Disease During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Feasibility Study

Dance as a treatment to support physical, cognitive and emotional functioning, has gained increased acceptance as a healthcare intervention for people with Parkinson's Disease (PD). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been far reaching with devastating effects for at-risk populations. To find alternative and safe treatment delivery options during the pandemic has been of outmost importance.

This mixed-methods, feasibility study on digital for people with Parkinson's Disease aimed to investigate: (1) the feasibility and safety of a digital home-based dance intervention for people with PD; (2) change in self-reported quality of life, cognitive complaints, psychological health and fatigue; and (3) the experience of digital dance for people with PD.

Twenty-three participants partook in 10 weekly digital dance classes at home via zoom. Feasibility outcomes measures were administered at post-test. Pre-post changes in self-reported quality of life, cognitive complaints, psychological health and fatigue were measured, as well as the experience of digital dance via focus groups.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Parkinson Disease
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Digital dance for PD

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 33
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Sweden
  • Stockholm, Sweden
    • Balettakademien

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Self-reported diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease
• Participant in Dance for PD at Balettakademien, Stockholm, Sweden

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: digital dance for PD	Device: Digital dance for PD; The digital dance class was held via Zoom. The class was scheduled once a week for 60 min and consisted of 10 sessions. A professional, certified Dance for PD and experienced dance instructor was teaching the dance class. The dance classes followed the Dance for PD protocol yet was adjusted to fit the digital zoom format.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility outcome measures	The following feasibility outcome measures were assessed: (a) Technical and safety issues, (b) Compliance and motivation, (c) Self-assessed improvement in physical function, wellbeing and cognitive function and (d) The importance of dance as an artistic and creative activity. Each feasibility outcome measure was assessed via a 5-point Likert scale ranging from (1=very unsatisfactory, 5=very satisfactory), (1=not motivated, 5=very motivated), (1=noticeable worsening, 5=noticeable improvement) or (1=not meaningful, 5=very meaningful). Furthermore, each feasibility outcome measure had an open-ended question connected to it in order to capture any details related that feasibility domain. Two open-ended questions regarding positive and negative aspects of digital dancing were also included. For each feasibility outcome measure, a criterion of success was developed in order to judge the the success rate of these feasibility outcome measures.	Assessed at post-test

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Depression and anxiety	Severity of depression and anxiety symptoms measured by Hospital Anxiety Depression scale Anxiety score: 0-21 higher score indicate more anxiety Depression score: 0-21 higher score indicate more depression	12 weeks (pretest - posttest)
Quality of life (QoL) Summary index	Quality of life measured by Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ39), Summary index: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems. Furthermore, scores on the following subscales were assessed: Mobility score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems; Activity of Daily Living score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems; Emotional well being score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems; Stigma score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems; Social support score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems; Cognition score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems; Communication score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems; Bodily discomfort score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems	12 weeks (pretest - posttest)
Quality of life (QoL) - Bodily discomfort	Quality of life measured by Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ39). Subscale: Bodily discomfort score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems	12 weeks (pretest - posttest)
Quality of life (QoL) Communication	Quality of life measured by Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ39). Subscale: Communication score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems	12 weeks (pretest - posttest)
Quality of life (QoL) Cognition	Quality of life measured by Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ39). Subscale:Cognition score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems	12 weeks (pretest - posttest)
Quality of life (QoL) Social support	Quality of life measured by Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ39). Subscale: Social support score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems	12 weeks (pretest - posttest)
Quality of life (QoL) Stigma	Quality of life measured by Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ39). Subscale: Stigma score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems	12 weeks (pretest - posttest)
Quality of life (QoL) Emotional well being	Quality of life measured by Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ39). Subscale: Emotional well being score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems	12 weeks (pretest - posttest)
Quality of life (QoL) Activity of Daily Living	Quality of life measured by Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ39). Subscale: Activity of Daily Living score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems	12 weeks (pretest - posttest)
Quality of life (QoL) - Mobility	Quality of life measured by Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ39). Subscale Mobility score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more problems	12 weeks (pretest - posttest)
Fatigue	Fatigue measured by Checklist Individual Strength Questionnaire (CIS). Total score: 20-140	12 weeks (pretest - posttest)
Subjective cognitive complaints	Improvement on subjective memory complaints measured by Prospective Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ). Total score: 16-80 higher scores indicate more cognitive complaints prospective score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more cognitive complaints retrospective score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more cognitive complaints short term score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more cognitive complaints long term score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more cognitive complaints self cued score: 0-100 higher scores indicate more cognitive complaints environmentally cued: 0-100 higher scores indicate more cognitive complaints	12 weeks (pretest - posttest)
Mental fatigue	Two questions from the Mental Fatigue Scale were used to measure mental fatigue (item 3) and recovery (item 4). Answers were given on a 7-point Likert scale.	12 weeks (pretest - posttest)
Experience and meaning of digital dance for people with PD	Two focus group interviews were conducted to examine the broader experience of digital dance for people with PD.	Assessed at post-test

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Age	Demographic characteristic: age at baseline	Assessed at pre-test
Sex	Demographic characteristic: sex	Assessed at pre-test
Educational level	Demographic characteristic: educational level	Assessed at pre-test
Previous experience of dance for Parkinson's Disease	Demographic characteristic: previous experience of dance for PD	Assessed at pre-test
Self-evaluated health	Demographic characteristic: self-evaluated health	Assessed a pre-test
Disease duration	Demographic characteristic: self-reported year of PD diagnosis	Assessed at pre-test
Current participation in physical exercise	Demographic characteristic: current participation in physical exercise	Assessed at pre-test

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Umeå University
• Collaborators: Karlstad University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Anna S Neely, prof, Umea University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Walton L, Domellof ME, Astrom AN, Elowson A, Neely AS. Digital Dance for People With Parkinson's Disease During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Feasibility Study. Front Neurol. 2022 Feb 3;12:743432. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.743432. eCollection 2021.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 4, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 3, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): December 3, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 23, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 24, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): June 28, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 28, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 24, 2021
• Last Verified: June 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Infections; Respiratory Tract Infections; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Lung Diseases; Parkinsonian Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Movement Disorders; Synucleinopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; COVID-19; Parkinson Disease
• Other Study ID Numbers: 136/2019

Drug and device information, study documents

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