Dancing with health : quality of life and physical improvements from an EU collaborative dance programme with women following breast cancer treatment

Background Women’s health has received renewed attention in the last few years including the rehabilitation of women whose health has been affected by breast cancer. Dancing has often been regarded as attractive for women but research with women recovering from breast cancer is still in its infancy. Methods Dancing with Health is multi-site evaluation study that aimed to evaluate a dance programme for women in recovery from breast cancer across five European countries. A standardised 32-hour dance protocol introduced a range of Latin American dances within a sports and exercise framework with influences from dance movement therapy. Fifty-four women (N=54) mean age 53.51 SD 7.99 participated in the study who have had breast cancer diagnosis 6 weeks and no indication of metastasis or scheduled surgery/chemotherapy/radiation treatment for the duration of the intervention. Primary outcome data was collected for anthropometric and fitness measures next to cancer-related quality of life. All evaluation measures were taken pre and post intervention. Results Statistically significant changes were found for: (i) weight (Mdn 69.84 ± 15.32 vs 65.50 ± 15.45 kg), forearm circumference (right Mdn 26.00 ± 2.05 vs 25.75 ± 3.00; left Mdn 26.00 ± 3.00 vs 26.00 ± 3.50 cm) and hip (M 104.94 ± 8.66 vs 103.77 ± 8.25 cm); (ii) 6-minute walking (M 521.36 ± 71.28 vs 557.60 ± 87.62 mt), handgrip (right M 22.78 ± 5.74 vs 24.70 ± 5.79; left M 20.76 ± 5.34 vs 22.64 ± 5.67 kg), sit-to-stand (Mdn 13.50 ± 3.50 vs 15.00 ± 5.25 no.) and sit-and-reach (Mdn 1.00 ± 10.00 vs 3.00 ± 11.50 cm); (iii) the EORTC-QLQ C30 summary score as well as the subscales of emotional and social functioning and symptoms. In all cases the direction of change was positive, while Cohen’s d calculated showed that the effect of the intervention for these parameters ranged from intermediate to large. Conclusion Changes on the above anthropometric, fitness and quality of life measures suggest that the intervention was of value to the participating women recovering from breast cancer. Results also advocate collaborative efforts across countries to further research

Professional and Personal Experience through Lifelong Learning and Regular Sport (PROPELLERS)—A Study Protocol

Physical inactivity (PI) and sedentary behaviours constitute a global health problem that has negative consequences for health and is also considered the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. A European project named ‘Professional and Personal Experience through Lifelong Learning and Regular Sport’ aims to encourage voluntary participation in sporting activities to achieve its benefits on health. First, a report will be carried out on the effects of physical activity (PA) or inactivity on health, which is often linked to school failure, obesity, self-esteem, etc. The data will be obtained through a completely anonymous online sport and health questionnaire, addressed to all profiles. The data collected through this survey will serve as a basis for understanding the reality of Europeans in terms of quality of life, demographics, physical fitness, and other factors. It is also intended to design a handbook with recommendations for improving health holistically through PA. Finally, the goal is to translate this project into a teaching system for sports professionals, so that they can transfer this knowledge as educational methods to improve people’s health, while adapting it to the particularities of each country, i.e., to provide these sports professionals with tools to train other people. © 2022 by the authors