Promoting wellbeing and health through active participation in music and dance: a systematic review

Figures & data

Figure 1. Flowchart of the literature identification and selection process

Table I. Summary of Participant Age Groups, Musical Activity, Research Design, Methodological Approaches, and Outcome Examined

	Musical Activity				Research Design						Methodological Approach			Outcome Examined
Age Group	Singing	Instr. Music	Various*	Previous Experience	Pre-Post Test	Long.	RCT	Case Study	Ethno.	Comp.	Qual.	Quant.	Mixed	Wellbeing	Cog. Health	Total Studies for Age Group
Adults >60 years	1	2	1	1	2	1	1			1		4	1	3	2	5
Adults >43 years		1			1								1	1		1
“Older” adults	1							1			1			1		1
Adults 18–43 years																0
Children <18 years			1		1						1			1		1
Unspecified	1								1		1			1		1
Total	3	3	2	1	4	1	1	1	1	1	3	4	2	7	2

Instr. = Instrumental (music), Ethno. = Ethnomusicological, Comp. = Comparative, Long. = Longitudinal, Qual. = Qualitative, Quant. = Quantitative, Cog. = Cognitive (health).

*Various includes a range of activities, for example: Listening, singing, moving, song-writing, or music appreciation.

Table II. Detailed Summary of the Music Research Results

Citation	Wellbeing/Cognitive Health	Participant Demographics	Activity	Study Design/ Measurement/ Measurement Tool/ Type of Data	Results/Key Concepts
Cohen et al. (2006)	Wellbeing	N = 166 (90 in intervention group) Age >65 years 78% female Washington DC, USA	Choir	Part of a larger longitudinal study Overall health Social health Depression/Loneliness Questionnaires/self-report Quantitative	Intervention group reported increase in overall health and social health
Creech et al. (2013)	Wellbeing	N = 500 (81% female) Age 43–93 (mode 65 years) UK	Instrumental music	Pre-test/post-test Autonomy Competence Relatedness Self-Realization Questionnaires Interviews Mixed methods	Positive changes
Joseph and Southcott (2014)	Wellbeing	Older Australians (age unspecified) 2 interviewees (1 male, 1 female) Melbourne, Australia	Choir	Case study Qualitative	Positive changes
Kim et al. (2006)	Wellbeing	N = 35 Age 11–12 years Girls Korea	Music participation	Post-test Positive social relationships Perceived self-control Direct observations Self-report Qualitative	Positive changes
McConnell (2016)	Wellbeing	The Gambia Age unspecified	Singing	Ethnomusicological study Qualitative	Positive changes
Solé et al. (2010)	Wellbeing	N = 83 (69 women) Mean age ~72.6 years Barcelona, Spain	Three music-based activities including a choir, music appreciation class, and a preventive music therapy programme	Pre-test/post-test Quality of Life Researcher-designed questionnaires Mixed methods	No significant changes
Yap et al. (2017)	Wellbeing	N = 31 (94% female) Age >65 years Singapore	Rhythm-centred music making programme	Randomized control trial with cross-over Depression Sleep quality Social isolation Questionnaires Quantitative	No significant changes
Bugos et al. (2007)	Cognition	N = 39 (16 intervention group) Age 60–85 years Gainesville, USA	Piano	Pre-test/post-test Working memory Executive function Cognitive performance tests Quantitative	Positive changes
Hanna-Pladdy and MacKay (2011)	Music (cognition)	N = 70 50–60% female for each group of participants) Age 60–83 years USA	Previous musical experience (non-professional, under 10 years)	Comparative study Sensorimotor and cognitive abilities as transferrable skills (to non-music activities) Cognitive performance tests Quantitative	Positive result—people with more musical training performed better than people without/with less music training

Table III. Summary of Participant Age Groups, Dance Activity, Research Design, Methodological Approaches, and Outcome Examined

	Dance Activity					Research Design					Methodological Approach			Outcome Examined
Age Group	Con- temp.	Cul- tural *	Unspeci- fied	Partnered **	Var- ious ***	Pre-Post Test	RCT	Quasi-Expt.	Ethno.	Comp.	Qual.	Quant.	Mixed	Wellbeing	Cog. Hlth	Phys. Hlth	Cog. and Phys. Hlth	Total Studies for Age Group
Adults >60 years	1	3	3	3	1	3	3		1	4	1	9	1	2	1	6	2	11
Adults >50 years		1							1		1			1				1
Adults 18–82 years	1			1			1	1				2		1		1		2
Adults 18–60 years	1	1		1		2			1		1	1	1	2		1		3
Children <18 years	1			1		1	1				1	1		1		1		2
Total	4	5	3	6	1	6	5	1	3	4	4	13	2	7	1	9	2

Contemp. = Contemporary (dance), Expt. = Experimental, Ethno. = Ethnographic/Observational/Exploratory, Comp. = Comparative, Long. = Longitudinal, Qual. = Qualitative, Quant. = Quantitative, Cog. Hlth = Cogntive Health, Phys. hlth = Physical Health.

*Cultural dance includes Scottish country dance, belly dancing, Colombian Caribbean folk dancing, and line dancing

**Partnered dance includes salsa, tango, and ballroom dancing

***Various includes a combination of dance activities including folk dances or ballroom dance.

Table IV. Detailed Summary of the Dance Research Results

Citation	Wellbeing/Cognition/Physical Health	Participant Demographics	Activity	Study Design/ Measurement/ Measurement Tool/ Type of Data	Results/Key Concepts
Coubard et al. (2011)	Cognition	N = 110 (104 females) Age 65–83 years France	Dance vs. fall prevention classes vs. tai chi	Comparative study Attention switching Cognitive flexibility Performance tests Quantitative	Positive improvement in dance group compared with other groups
Cruz-Ferreira et al. (2015)	Wellbeing	N = 57 women 65–80 years Portugal	Contemporary dance	Randomized control trial Physical fitness Life satisfaction Questionnaire Fitness test Quantitative	Positive improvement in intervention group
Dewhurst et al. (2014)	Physical health	N = 60 women Average age ~67.6 years Scotland	Scottish country dancing	Comparative study Functional ability Balance Performance tests Quantitative	Positive change in intervention group
Duberg et al. (2016)	Wellbeing	N = 112 girls Age 13–18 years Sweden	Contemporary dance	Randomized control study Emotional expression Social competence Self-report diary Interview Qualitative	Positive associations with dance
Filar-Mierzwa et al. (2017)	Physical health	N = 24 All women Age 61–74 years Poland	Dance	Pre-test/post-test Balance Posture Fall prevention Performance test Quantitative	Positive improvement in dance group
Granacher et al. (2012)	Physical health	N = 28 (17 female) Age 63–82 years Germany	Salsa dancing	Randomized control trial Static/dynamic postural control Leg extensor power Performance tests Questionnaire Quantitative	Positive improvement in dance group
Huang et al. (2012)	Physical health	N = 79 (across 2 primary schools) 8–11 years New York	Ballroom dancing	Pre-test/post-test Time involved in physical activity Heart rate Direct monitoring/observation Biometric data Quantitative	Positive improvement post-test
Jan-Christoph et al. (2010)	Cognition and physical health	N = 62 (49 female) Age 61–94 years Germany	Ballroom dance	Comparative study Everyday competence Cognitive performance Multiple-choice reaction time measurement Motor and tactile performance Performance tests Quantitative	Positive changes in intervention group
Kattenstroth et al. (2013)	Cognition and physical health	N = 35 (25 women) Age 60–94 years Germany	Dance class (specifically designed for aged participants)	Pre-test/post-test Posture Motor performance Cognitive performance Tactile performance Reaction time Performance tests Quantitative	Positive change in intervention group
Kreutz (2008)	Wellbeing	N = 110 (41.4% female) Age ~37.96 years Netherlands and Germany	Ballroom dancing	Exploratory Interview Participant observation Qualitative	Positive associations with dance
Merom et al. (2016)	Physical health	N = 530 (across 23 self-care retirement villages) 85% female Mean age 78 years old Sydney, Australia	Social dance class (folk or ballroom dancing)	Randomized control trial Falls Fall related mechanisms Self-report Performance tests Mixed methods	No improvement
Moe (2014)	Wellbeing	N = 16 women Age >50 years USA	Belly dancing	Participant observation Interviews Qualitative	Positive
Muro and Artero (2017)	Wellbeing	N = 201 women Age ~20.88 years Spain	Modern dance	Pre-test/post-test Life satisfaction Mindfulness Questionnaire Quantitative	Positive associations
Murrock and Gary (2008)	Physical health	N = 126 women Age 36–82 years USA	Contemporary dance	Quasi-experimental Functional capacity Performance test Quantitative	Positive improvement in intervention group
Nadasen (2008)	Wellbeing	N = 30 women Age 60–82 years South Africa	Line dancing	Participant observation Social activity Interview Qualitative	Positive improvement
Pacheco et al. (2016)	Physical health	N = 27 women Age >60 years Colombian Caribbean region	Colombian Caribbean folk dance	Pre-test/post-test Cardiorespiratory function Strength Balance Direct observation Quantitative	Positive improvement in intervention group
Pinniger et al. (2012)	Wellbeing	N = 66 (90.0% female) Age 18–80 years Australia	Tango vs. meditation vs. control	Randomized control trial Depression, anxiety and stress Self-esteem Life satisfaction Mindfulness Questionnaire Self-report Quantitative	Positive improvement in mindfulness but not self-esteem or life satisfaction
Rahal et al. (2015)	Physical health	N = 76 (56% female) Age >60 years Brazil	Ballroom dancing vs. tai chi	Comparative study Posture Balance Performance tests Quantitative	Positive improvements for both groups
Vahabi and Damba (2015)	Physical health	N = 30 Women Age 22–58 years South Asian migrants in Toronto, Canada	Bollywood dancing	Pre-test/post-test Physical activity Physical health Questionnaire Interviews Biometric data Mixed methods	Positive improvement post-test

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