Abstract

Dance is a universal human activity, a social interaction, an art form, and a means of self-expression. Dance also has an exciting role to play in health and rehabilitation. This talk will present a theoretical mechanistic framework and evidence to support the use of dance as a holistic intervention to improve physical and psychosocial well-being. Situated within the Medical Research Council’s framework for the development and evaluation of complex interventions, Dr. Patterson will present qualitative and quantitative work from her lab that covers the feasibility of in-person and virtual dance programs for people with stroke, the effects on balance, mood and stress, and the underlying mechanism through which dance may provide these benefits.

Biography

Dr. Kara Patterson is a physiotherapist, an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto, and a Senior Scientist at the KITE-Rehabilitation Research Institute. She leads the RELEARN lab (http://www.relearnlab.ca/), which strives to advance neurorehabilitation practice to improve mobility outcomes and psychosocial well-being for people living with neurological conditions. Her research interests include the development and testing of novel rehabilitation strategies, such as rhythm-, music- and dance-based interventions. She is particularly interested in understanding dance in the context of complex interventions and exploring the potential of dance as a holistic intervention for people living with neurological conditions. Dr. Patterson’s work is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.