title: Effects of Praise Dance on the Quality of Life of Chinese Women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Religion, spirituality, and health are inseparable in human history. Yet, the effects of religion and spirituality on health are controversial. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of praise dance on the quality of life (QoL) of women with or without medically diagnosed diseases.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a pretest-posttest study with one convenience sample that took place at Praise Dance Association Hong Kong (PDA) centers. Two hundred and fifty-six Chinese adult females participated. They were aged ≥45 years and had joined the PDA centers within 4 weeks of the commencement of this study. The intervention lasted for 12 weeks, and the subjects practiced praise dance three times a week in a group with a coach in the first four weeks and subsequently on their own or with the same group at least once a week. Each dancing session lasted for 30 min. The subjects completed the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF (HK) questionnaire before and after the intervention of the praise dance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The findings showed significant improvement in the psychological well-being of the participants, regardless of their religious background. The improvement in their physical domain was statistically marginal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first empirical study to test the benefit of praise dance on QoL. Promoting praise dance could be beneficial to the psychological well-being of women, regardless of their religious backgrounds. The effect of religion or spirituality on QoL warrants further investigation.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong , Tai Po, Hong Kong .
authors.forename: Joanne Wai-Yee
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong , Tai Po, Hong Kong .
authors.forename: Bonny Yee-Man
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: 2 Ginger Knowledge Transfer and Consultancy Limited , Kowloon, Hong Kong .
authors.forename: Jing-Han
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: 3 Regeneration Charity , Kwai Chung, Hong Kong .
authors.forename: Margaret Wai Ling
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D002681:China; D065187:Controlled Before-After Studies; D003615:Dancing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D029181:Spirituality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Praise Dance; quality of life; spirituality