danceSing Care Evaluation: Testing the Effectiveness

Digital Music and Movement Resources to Increase Mental and Physical Well-being in Older Adults in Care Homes: a Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial.

This pilot randomised controlled trial aims to compare the effectiveness of a 12-week music and movement intervention in older adults in care homes compared to a waitlist control group.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Do salivary cortisol and DHEAS levels improve after the intervention, compared to the waitlist control group?
• Do feelings of anxiety and depression improve after the intervention, compared to the waitlist control group?
• Does the quality of life improve after the intervention, compared to the waitlist control group?
• Does physical function improve after the intervention, compared to the waitlist control group?

Participants will engage in music and movement sessions three times per week for 12 weeks. Researchers will compare the intervention group to the waitlist control group to see if any effects occur.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Quality of Life; Stress, Physiological; Aging; Healthy Aging; Older Adults; Depression, Anxiety
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: danceSing Care

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 34
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Essex
    • Upminster, Essex, United Kingdom, RM14 3DH
      • Holmes Care group

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 65 years and older (Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• residents in care homes ≥ 65 years,
• able to complete 12 weeks of a movement and music program,
• having the capacity to give informed consent as assessed by care staff and confirmed in discussion about the project with the research team using the British Psychological Society capacity checklist

Exclusion Criteria:

• currently taking part in any other clinical trial which could potentially have an impact upon or influence the findings of the current study,
• pre-existing conditions or concurrent diagnoses which would profoundly impact their capacity to undergo the intervention, even once adaptations have been made,
• inability to adequately understand written/spoken English to participate in the measures and intervention (e.g., due to cognitive or sensory impairment).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group; The programme was a digital movement and music programme with resources from danceSing Care (https://dancesingcare.uk/) and consisted of two movement sessions and one music session each week, each lasting about 20 minutes. Also, the danceSing care resources were designed to suit older adults with physical and cognitive impairments (residents with mobility aids and/or dementia). Movement sessions included chair and standing fitness, which started with a warm-up and finished with stretching exercises. Sessions were managed and supervised by care home activity coordinators.	Behavioral: danceSing Care; - Physical activity interventions, including multi-component (chair-based) exercises or dancing, and music therapies have been shown to improve multidimensional health markers in older adults.
No Intervention: Waitlist control group; Waitlist for 12 weeks before participating in the digital movement and music programme with resources from danceSing Care (https://dancesingcare.uk/).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change From Baseline Salivary Cortisol Levels	Saliva samples will be obtained to determine free salivary cortisol. If the test is done around 9 AM, the results would be between 100 and 750 ng/dL. Any dysregulation, notably higher cortisol levels, may indicate poor health outcomes.	Baseline (within 1 week prior to intervention starting) and post-intervention, within 1 week of completion of the 12-week intervention period.
Change From Baseline Psychosocial Wellbeing Using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)	The HADS questionnaire has seven items each for depression and anxiety subscales. Scoring for each item ranges from zero to three, with three denoting highest anxiety or depression level. A total subscale score of >8 points out of a possible 21 denotes considerable symptoms of anxiety or depression. The range of scores for each of the two subscales (anxiety and depression) is 0-21, respectively.	Baseline (within 1 week prior to intervention starting) and post-intervention, within 1 week of completion of the 12-week intervention period.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change From Baseline Fear of Falling Using the Falls Efficacy Scale - International (Short Form)(FES-I)	It is a 16 item questionnaire, useful to the researchers and clinicians interested in fear of falling, with a score ranging from minimum 16 (no concern about falling) to maximum 64 (severe concern about falling).	Before and 1 month after completion of the 12-week intervention period.
Change From Baseline Activities of Daily Living and Health-related Quality of Life Using The Dartmouth COOP Charts	5-point Likert-type scaling, with descriptors and cartoon illustrations of levels 1 through 5. Rating of "1" = no impairment, "5" = most impaired.	Before and 1 month after completion of the 12-week intervention period.
Change From Baseline Psychosocial Wellbeing Using the Brief UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-6)	Using a 4-point rating scale (1= never; 4 = always), participants answer 6 questions, such as "How often do you feel left out?" and "How often do you feel part of a group of friends?" The rating given in answer to each of the questions are summed to form a total score. Thus the range of scores for the total is 6 to 24. A higher score is worse loneliness.	Before and 1 month after completion of the 12-week intervention period.
Change From Baseline Psychosocial Wellbeing Using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)	Individual scores on the PSS can range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress.	Before and 1 month after completion of the 12-week intervention period.
Change From Baseline Sleep Satisfaction Using the National Sleep Foundation's Sleep Satisfaction Tool (SST)	9-item questionnaire (scoring 1 not satisfied to 4 very satisfied) to assesses the general population's sleep satisfaction.	Before and 1 month after completion of the 12-week intervention period.
Change From Baseline Physical Function Using the Short Performance Battery	The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) is a relatively simple test that can provide insight into walking speed, balance and leg strength, important factors for self-reliance, in a short period of time. The SPPB is increasingly used in the scientific literature as an outcome measure for mobility and a predictor of health outcomes. The test consists of three tests: a walking test, a balance test and a repeated chair-stand test. The scores range from 0 (worst performance) to 12 (best performance).	Before and 1 month after completion of the 12-week intervention period.
Change From Baseline Physical Function Using Hand Grip Strength	The purpose of the handgrip strength test is to measure the maximum isometric strength of the hand and forearm muscles, and is suggested to be a marker of health and longevity. Reported hand grip strengths markers: 41.7 and 25.9 kg, respectively, in men and women aged 60-64 years, 41.7 and 25.6 kg for ages 65-69 years, 38.2 and 24.2 kg for ages 70-74 years, and 28 and 18.0 kg for age >75 years, respectively.	Before and 1 month after completion of the 12-week intervention period.
Change From Baseline Physical Function Using Fried Frailty Phenotype Criteria	The Fried's frailty phenotype defines frailty as the presence of five components: weakness, slowness, exhaustion, low physical activity, and unintentional weight loss. Scoring: ≥3/5 criteria met indicates frailty; 1-2/5 indicates pre-or-intermediate frailty; 0/5 indicates non-frail.	Before and 1 month after completion of the 12-week intervention period.
Change From Baseline Salivary DHEAS Levels at 12 Weeks	Saliva samples will be obtained to determine DHEAS. Any dysregulation, notably lower DHEAS levels, may indicate poor health outcomes. (Average levels: ages 60 to 69: 13 to 130 µg/dL or 0.35 to 3.51 µmol/L Ages 69 and older: 17 to 90 µg/dL or 0.46 to 2.43 µmol/L)	Before and 1 month after completion of the 12-week intervention period.
Acceptability of the Intervention Assessed by Interviews	The researchers devised the semi-structured interview guide in consultation with the study advisory group and focused on the overview of what participants and activity coordinators thought of the programme, acceptability of the intervention and any benefits they derived, or barriers experienced. Thematic analysis by independent researchers was deductive, focusing on the progression criteria identified as key feasibility outcomes. Themes were then coded from the keywords and phrases found to be consistent throughout the interviews. Themes labelling was mostly in line with components of the progression criteria hence: Fidelity, Attendance and Retention.	1 month after completion after the completion of the 12-week intervention period

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Acceptability of the Intervention	Acceptability of the intervention as assessed by focus groups and semi-structured interviews - qualitative data collection and thematic analysis	12weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Stirling
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Anna Whittaker&, PhD, University of Stirling

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 20, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 20, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): August 20, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 24, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 27, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): November 1, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): May 20, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 6, 2025
• Last Verified: May 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: clinical trial; randomised controlled trial; cortisol; DHEAS; care home; music and movement intervention
• Other Study ID Numbers: dC 3735

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