Intergenerational dance to promote physical activity and socialisation

Twelve participants (five teenagers and seven older adults) took part in the programme over the course of five weeks. The content involved icebreakers, warm-up/cooldown, and social dance. Each week, participants had the opportunity to provide feedback on what was working well and what could be changed or adapted. This helped to finalise the content of the programme so that it could be rolled out in secondary schools with Transition Year students and older adults from the community. 

Dance is an artistic and social form of exercise that has been shown to be effective across the lifespan. Intergenerational dance programs can have beneficial effects in reducing discrimination and fostering communities. There is a need for well-designed community based intergenerational dance programs to target the needs of older adults and teenagers, while also addressing physical activity, socialisation and ageism. Ageism can seriously affect people’s health and wellbeing. The healthcare costs associated with ageing are upwards of billions of Euros annually. Intergenerational programmes are essential to tackle ageist stereotypes in society. 

University of the Third Age

We tested out several measures with the pilot study group. This included physical activity trackers, mobility tests, and a problem-solving assessment. We asked for feedback on these measures. The participants felt that they were relevant, however the balance measures needed to be more challenging. Focus groups were held to explore how participants experienced the programme and how it could be adapted to work better in the future. This feedback was used to refine the programme. It has now been rolled out in two secondary schools in Limerick where we will be looking to see if it is a wanted and needed programme in the community.