title: Influencing self-rated health among adolescent girls with dance intervention: a randomized controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate whether dance intervention influenced self-rated health for adolescent girls with internalizing problems.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized controlled intervention trial with follow-up measures at 8, 12, and 20 months after baseline.
  
  
  METHODS
  A Swedish city with a population of 130 000.
  
  
  METHODS
  Girls aged 13 to 18 years with internalizing problems, ie, stress and psychosomatic symptoms. A total of 59 girls were randomized to the intervention group and 53 were randomized to the control group.
  
  
  METHODS
  The intervention comprised dance classes twice weekly during 8 months. Each dance class lasted 75 minutes and the focus was on the joy of movement, not on performance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Self-rated health was the primary outcome; secondary outcomes were adherence to and experience of the intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The dance intervention group improved their self-rated health more than the control group at all follow-ups. At baseline, the mean score on a 5-point scale was 3.32 for the dance intervention group and 3.75 for the control group. The difference in mean change was 0.30 (95% CI, -0.01 to 0.61) at 8 months, 0.62 (95% CI, 0.25 to 0.99) at 12 months, and 0.40 (95% CI, 0.04 to 0.77) at 20 months. Among the girls in the intervention group, 67% had an attendance rate of 50% to 100%. A total of 91% of the girls rated the dance intervention as a positive experience.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An 8-month dance intervention can improve self-rated health for adolescent girls with internalizing problems. The improvement remained a year after the intervention.
authors: Centre for Health Care Sciences, Örebro County Council, Örebo University, SE-70113 Örebo, Sweden. anna.duberg2@orebroll.se
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Duberg
authors: Lars
authors: L
authors: Hagberg
authors: Helena
authors: H
authors: Sunvisson
authors: Margareta
authors: M
authors: Möller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000628:therapy; D003614:Dance Therapy / Q000379:methods; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy; D005221:Fatigue / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology; D059408:Pain Management; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D057566:Self Report; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome