Jochum Elizabeth, Egholm Ditte, Oliveira Anderson Souza, Jacobsen Stine Lindahl
Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
Department of Materials and Production, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
Front Sports Act Living. 2024 Sep 4;6:1434661. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1434661. eCollection 2024.
We present the findings from a pilot study to evaluate the effects of a six-week adapted folk-dance intervention on physical and mental health for at-risk adolescents conducted in schools. At-risk adolescents are at particular risk for sedentary behavior, poor mental health, and lower quality of life, and are likely to benefit from motivating and health-promoting activities such as dance. However, it can be challenging to conduct and evaluate evidence-based interventions with this population. We conducted a convergent parallel mixed-method design using pre-post measures of mental well-being, as well as pre-post measures using inertial measurement units to assess physical activity during a 6-week adapted folk-dance intervention. At the completion of the study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with all stakeholder groups. We observed significant improvements in mental well-being, as indicated by increased WEMWBS and MHC-SF scores, while the UCLA score showed no significant change, with these outcomes independent of age and gender. Furthermore, at-risk adolescents reduced the time spent in stationary/resting position, while their heart rates were also reduced by ∼15% in such conditions. Our results suggest that at-risk youth who participated in adapted folk-dance became more enthusiastic and showed more willingness to move over the course of the intervention. Quantitative results were supported by interviews, which found that participants responded positively to the adapted folk-dance classes, and reported both elevated physical exertion and high levels of enjoyment. The mixed-method research design also provided insights into the suitability of data collection methods for this hard-to-reach population. We report on these outcomes, including best practices for working within schools on health-promoting physical activities.
我们展示了一项试点研究的结果，该研究旨在评估在学校开展的为期六周的适应性民间舞蹈干预对高危青少年身心健康的影响。高危青少年尤其容易出现久坐行为、心理健康不佳和生活质量较低的情况，并且可能会从舞蹈等激励性和促进健康的活动中受益。然而，对这一人群进行并评估基于证据的干预措施可能具有挑战性。我们采用了一种收敛平行混合方法设计，使用心理健康的前后测量指标，以及在为期六周的适应性民间舞蹈干预期间使用惯性测量单元来评估身体活动的前后测量指标。在研究结束时，我们对所有利益相关者群体进行了半结构化访谈。我们观察到心理健康有显著改善，世界卫生组织幸福指数（WEMWBS）和心理健康连续体简表（MHC-SF）得分增加表明了这一点，而加州大学洛杉矶分校孤独感量表（UCLA）得分没有显著变化，这些结果与年龄和性别无关。此外，高危青少年减少了静止/休息姿势的时间，同时在这种情况下他们的心率也降低了约15%。我们的结果表明，参与适应性民间舞蹈的高危青少年在干预过程中变得更加热情，并且表现出更多的运动意愿。定量结果得到了访谈的支持，访谈发现参与者对适应性民间舞蹈课程反应积极，并报告了体力消耗增加和高度的愉悦感。混合方法研究设计还为针对这一难以接触人群的数据收集方法的适用性提供了见解。我们报告了这些结果，包括在学校开展促进健康的体育活动的最佳实践。
