Introducing a Latin ballroom dance class to people with dementia living in care homes, benefits and concerns: A pilot study

The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of introducing a dance-based psychomotor intervention using Danzón (Latin ballroom) for people with dementia in care homes. This was a grounded theory qualitative study. Thirteen of the 22 participants had dementia and were care-home residents. The remaining participants were care staff and facilitators of the dance sessions. Interviews were undertaken with seven people with dementia and nine staff, resulting in two separate sets of grounded theory methodologies. Two conceptual models, outlining positive outcomes and negative concerns of the use of Danzón were developed, depicting the experiences of people with dementia and care staff respectively. Danzón psychomotor intervention was found to enhance positive emotional states and general levels of satisfaction for both people with dementia and care staff. The details of these findings have been used to design a quantitative study.