1. Reducing loneliness and social isolation through singing and dance
research from the Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health
Dr Ann Skingley, Principal Research Fellow

2. Overview
Background
Sidney De Haan Research Centre and Arts & Health research
Findings from three research projects
Singing and mental health
Singing and COPD
Dance and arts for older people

3. Background: loneliness past
There is a close but complex association between loneliness, social isolation and living alone (Cattan et al, 2005)

4. Background : loneliness now
The Age of loneliness?

5. Background: theory
How can the arts, and particularly singing and dance, contribute?
Singing found in all human societies
Singing and dance as mechanisms for human bonding through synchronous behaviours
Evidence of hormone release
Faster bonding with singing than with other group activities (Pearce et al, 2015)

6. Arts & Health Research Sidney De Haan Centre’s work
Researching the link between the arts & wellbeing and health for 10 years
Focus on older people and those living with LTCs – COPD, mental health problems, dementia, Parkinson’s.
Both of these groups at risk of loneliness, social isolation and detachment from cultural activities (ONS, 2010; ELSA 2012)

7. Arts & Health Research Current policy for older people’s wellbeing
NICE (2015) Older people: independence and mental wellbeing
Provide opportunities to socialise
Importance of sense of belonging to a community (‘social connectedness’)
Provide activities including singing programmes – best quality evidence from an RCT
But generally a lack of evidence for effectiveness

8. Arts & Health Research importance of social wellbeing
2011 NIHR’s Public Health Programme commissioned call:
What is the effectiveness and cost effectiveness for health and wellbeing of bringing people together through creative enterprises in open access settings?
There is increasing recognition that social isolation adversely affects long-term health and wellbeing.
Primary research is required to investigate the effectiveness and cost effectiveness for health and wellbeing of bringing people together through creative enterprises in open access settings.

9. Arts, Health and Loneliness Research issues and assumptions
Target group – how to access?
Link between loneliness and social isolation?
Measuring loneliness and social isolation
How to demonstrate preventive effects?
Funding for arts and health research
Sustainability

10. Singing for Mental Health
7 groups in E.Kent
137 participants
42 completed baseline and follow-up questionnaires
CORE-OM showed significant improvement on some items
(e.g. I have felt terribly alone and
isolated)
Singing for mental health at The Granville, Ramsgate

11. Whitstable singing for breathing group
Singing and COPD
Affects c. 835,000 people in England (DH 2010)
People with COPD feel isolated (BLF 2007)
Some existing evidence for effect of singing on quality of life
observational pre-test, post-test study
6 singing groups, n=121 at baseline, 36 weeks singing intervention
Spirometry, standardised questionnaires, free comments
Mean increase in FEV1
Whitstable singing for breathing group

12. Singing and COPD
‘COPD is socially isolating and the singing class has allowed me to share experiences about my condition and pick up tips from others on how to cope. There’s always a welcoming, comforting atmosphere at singing, it’s the one place I don’t feel unusual or different
from other folk and you don’t get comments or looks from those around you if you experience discomfort as they understand
your condition and its limitations’ (Male, age 70)

13. Arts and dance for older people: edna: energise dance nourish art
In Medway & Gravesham
30-43% pensioners live alone
Up to 26% older people in deprivation
Up to 17.9% have long term limiting illness (Public Health England 2013)
North Kent Local Authorities Arts Partnership and voluntary groups as partners
12 week dance and arts programme in 2 venues running concurrently
Pretest-posttest physical (n=14) and QoL (n=21) measures

14. Arts and dance for older people Findings
Improvements in posture, shoulder mobility and balance
Significant improvement in psychological domain of WHOQOL BREF
Positive comments:
‘I think really what edna has meant for me is meeting people. I love meeting people and I think we’ve been very lucky with the people that have introduced us to this course and have organised the whole thing’. (Female age 90)
‘It’s not easy to make friends as you get older. People can get cliquey but that’s not what’s happened here because we’ve all been encouraged to gel as a group and that’s been a big positive for me’. (Female age 73)
Some physical measures reached statistical significance
Some divergence between what the QT and QL data suggest i.e no difference on social scale of WHOQOL but participants commented on the social side at interview

15. What have we found?
Older individuals and those living with long term conditions can feel isolated
Group arts projects seem to reduce sense of isolation
Structured measures do not always capture how participants feel
Issues of funding, sustainability, measures, recruitment remain

16. Thank you! ann.skingley@canterbury.ac.uk