Revista Brasileira de Cineantropometria e Desempenho Humano (Jun 2010)
<b>Personal characteristics and participation in dance events of residents from home for the aged</b>
Abstract
A growing elderly population and an increase in the number of residents of long-stayinstitutions are currently observed. One of the activities that provides benefits to these individualsis dancing, but little is known about this practice in these institutions. The objective of this studywas to identify factors that limit or encourage residents of these institutions to actively participatein dance events. This qualitative and exploratory study involved a group of 30 residents of a longstayinstitution (mean age: 72.6 ± 9.6 years) and a group of 30 visitors (mean age: 68.1 ± 10.2years), who had participated in dance events for at least one year. The personal history relatedto dancing was obtained by semistructured interviews. The results showed that most respondersbegan dancing at a young age influenced by their families, attending country dances. However,changes have occurred over the years and these events have been greatly reduced at the institution.Less commitment to participate in activities and greater physical debilitation were observed inthe group of residents of the long-stay institution. These subjects also reported that they makefew friends during the event, receive little praise, and are most of the time only watching othersdancing. It was concluded that it would be necessary to offer activities that permit more activeparticipation, contributing to the development of the personal characteristics of the subjects, inorder to promote this practice which, in turn, could produce health benefits.
