Adolescent girls today suffer from internalizing problems such as somatic symptoms and mental health problems at higher rates compared to those of previous decades, and effective interventions are warranted. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of participating in an 8-month dance intervention. This qualitative study was embedded in a randomized controlled trial of a dance intervention for adolescent girls with internalizing problems. A total of 112 girls aged 13–18 were included in the study. The dance intervention group comprised 59 girls, 24 of whom were strategically chosen to be interviewed. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. The experiences of the dance intervention resulted in five generic categories: (1) An Oasis from Stress, which represents the fundamental basis of the intervention; (2) Supportive Togetherness, the setting; (3) Enjoyment and Empowerment, the immediate effect; (4) Finding Acceptance and Trust in Own Ability, the outcome; and (5) Dance as Emotional Expression, the use of the intervention. One main category emerged, Finding Embodied Self-Trust That Opens New Doors, which emphasizes the increased trust in the self and the ability to approach life with a sense of freedom and openness. The central understanding of the adolescent girls’ experiences was that the dance intervention enriched and gave access to personal resources. With the non-judgmental atmosphere and supportive togetherness as a safe platform, the enjoyment and empowerment in dancing gave rise to acceptance, trust in ability, and emotional expression. Taken together, this increased self-trust and they discovered a new ability to “claim space.” Findings from this study may provide practical information on designing future interventions for adolescent girls with internalizing problems.
An 8-month dance intervention can improve self-rated health for adolescent girls with internalizing problems. The improvement remained a year after the intervention.
BackgroundThe increasing prevalence of psychological health problems among adolescent girls is alarming. Knowledge of beneficial effects of physical activity on psychological health is widespread. Dance is a popular form of exercise that could be a protective factor in preventing and treating symptoms of depression. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of a dance intervention in addition to usual school health services for adolescent girls with internalizing problems, compared with usual school health services alone.MethodsA cost-utility analysis from a societal perspective based on a randomized controlled intervention trial was performed. The setting was a city in central Sweden with a population of 130 000. A total of 112 adolescent girls, 13–18 years old, with internalizing problems participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 59) or control (n = 53) group. The intervention comprised dance twice weekly during eight months in addition to usual school health services. Costs for the stakeholder of the intervention, treatment effect and healthcare costs were considered. Gained quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were used to measure the effects. Quality of life was measured with the Health Utility Index Mark 3. Cost-effectiveness ratios were based on the changes in QALYs and net costs for the intervention group compared with the control group. Likelihood of cost-effectiveness was calculated.ResultsAt 20 months, quality of life had increased by 0.08 units more in the intervention group than in the control group (P = .04), translating to 0.10 gained QALYs. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was USD $3,830 per QALY and the likelihood of cost-effectiveness was 95%.ConclusionsIntervention with dance twice weekly in addition to usual school health services may be considered cost-effective compared with usual school health services alone, for adolescent girls with internalizing problems.Trial registrationName of the trial registry: “Influencing Adolescent Girls’ With Creative Dance Twice Weekly”Trial registration number: NCT01523561
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