TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of an African circle dance programme on internally displaced persons with depressive symptoms
T2 - A quasi-experimental study
AU - Salihu, Dauda
AU - Wong, Eliza M.L.
AU - Kwan, Rick Y.C.
N1 - Funding Information:
The displaced individuals involved in this study lived with their family members in the Muna Garage and Teachers Village IDP camps [52,53]. They fled their homes because of an on-going ethno-religious crisis, and a significant proportion of them suffered from mental distress (e.g., depressive symptoms, stress [54]. The two camps each held between 31,019 and 39,560 people [53,55]. Both camps were managed by the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and supported by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/1/2
Y1 - 2021/1/2
N2 - Background: Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are people who have been forced to flee their homes due to disasters. Depressive symptoms, at over 31–67%, are prevalent in IDPs in Africa. Despite the evidence for the benefits of the promotion of dance interventions on psychological health, supporting information is needed to outline the benefits of an African Circle Dance (ACD) intervention for IDPs in Africa. Methods: A quasi-experimental design (pre-/post-test) was employed. Two IDP camps were randomized into the intervention group (psychoeducation and ACD intervention) and the control group (psychoeducation). Adults aged ≥18 years, living in an IDP camp, able to perform brisk walking, and who scored ≥10 on a depressive symptoms subscale were recruited. The intervention group received an 8-week ACD dance intervention and two 1-h psychoeducation sessions on stress management; the controls only received the psychoeducation sessions. Outcomes were depressive symptoms, stress, and anxiety. Data were collected at baseline (T0), immediately after the intervention at week 8 (T1), and at week 12 (T2) at the post-intervention and follow-up session. A generalized estimating equation was used to test the effects of the ACD intervention, with a 0.05 significance level. Results: 198 IDPs completed the study (ncontrol = 98; nintervention = 100). The intervention group reported significantly greater improvements in depressive symptoms (v = 0.33, p < 0.001) and stress (v = 0.15, 0.008) than did the control group. Conclusions: ACD could be a valuable complementary intervention in health promotion but more research is needed.
AB - Background: Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are people who have been forced to flee their homes due to disasters. Depressive symptoms, at over 31–67%, are prevalent in IDPs in Africa. Despite the evidence for the benefits of the promotion of dance interventions on psychological health, supporting information is needed to outline the benefits of an African Circle Dance (ACD) intervention for IDPs in Africa. Methods: A quasi-experimental design (pre-/post-test) was employed. Two IDP camps were randomized into the intervention group (psychoeducation and ACD intervention) and the control group (psychoeducation). Adults aged ≥18 years, living in an IDP camp, able to perform brisk walking, and who scored ≥10 on a depressive symptoms subscale were recruited. The intervention group received an 8-week ACD dance intervention and two 1-h psychoeducation sessions on stress management; the controls only received the psychoeducation sessions. Outcomes were depressive symptoms, stress, and anxiety. Data were collected at baseline (T0), immediately after the intervention at week 8 (T1), and at week 12 (T2) at the post-intervention and follow-up session. A generalized estimating equation was used to test the effects of the ACD intervention, with a 0.05 significance level. Results: 198 IDPs completed the study (ncontrol = 98; nintervention = 100). The intervention group reported significantly greater improvements in depressive symptoms (v = 0.33, p < 0.001) and stress (v = 0.15, 0.008) than did the control group. Conclusions: ACD could be a valuable complementary intervention in health promotion but more research is needed.
KW - African circle dance
KW - Anxiety
KW - Depressive symptoms
KW - Internally displaced persons
KW - Stress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85100060681&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph18020843
DO - 10.3390/ijerph18020843
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 33478173
AN - SCOPUS:85100060681
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 18
SP - 1
EP - 17
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 2
M1 - 843
ER -
