Health Literacy for Collegiate Dancers: Provision and Perceptions of Health-Related Education in University Dance Programs

Abstract

Dancers have unique health issues, including high injury rates and functional, nutritional, and psychological concerns. Thererfore, developing dancers with high health literacy is crucial. This study examines 1. the types of health-related information offered in university dance programs, and 2. the perceptions of dance stakeholders (administrators, faculty, and students) toward health-related education provided to dancers in these programs. Participating stakeholders (N = 104) from 11 countries completed a web-based survey examining health-related offerings for dance students at their instituitions. Eighty-four participants (81%) indicated that health-related information was delivered at their instituition. The most commonly offered topics included functional dance anatomy (N = 82, 98%), recognizing dance injuries and illnesses (N = 66, 79%), and strength and conditioning for dancers (N = 61, 73%). Participants rated recognizing dance injuries and illnesses (N = 72, 69%), basic personal health (N = 70, 67%), and nutrition (N = 68, 65%) as the top three "extremely important" topics, even if these were not offered at their institution. Faculty and administrators reported similar attitudes toward topic importance as those reported by students. Fifty-five respondents (65%) reported textbooks were used to deliver health-related information, and content was also provided via journal articles (N = 58, 69%), organizational web sites (N = 39, 46%), and social media (N = 16, 19%). Reported barriers to providing adequate education included lack of dance faculty expertise to deliver course content (N = 7) and receiving care from practitioners lacking in knowledge of dance medicine (N = 5). Participants generally agreed that making health-related information available was important, and 81% of respondants indicated that it was formally offered at their institution. Variability was noted regarding topics rated "highly important," as compared to which topics were already provided. These findings offer insight into the current status of health-related education provided to dance students and can be used to improve curricula in university dance programs.