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Dancers’ Reflections on Their Healthcare Experiences: Perspectives from Australia and the USA

Descoteaux, Jill
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1530538560639848

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Individual Interdisciplinary Program.
In the field of dance medicine and science, there is limited literature addressing dancers’ access to healthcare. Between 2007 and 2009, the journal Medical Problems of Performing Artists published three articles evaluating the current status of performing arts medicine in three countries; Cuba (2007), Australia (2008), and the United States (2009). American physician and researcher Mary Air identifies that “in many countries…dancers are largely disconnected from medical resources readily available to other professional athletes due to low income, tenuous job stability, lack of adequate health insurance, poor Workers’ Compensation, and underdeveloped networking systems between dancer and medical institutions” (Air, 2009, p. 42). The research that forms the basis of this abstract (presentation) directly addresses the gap in research on dancers and healthcare. It has implications for the health and wellbeing of professional dancers, both freelance and companied, throughout their careers and life. Through a narrative qualitative lens, the purpose is to describe and compare American and Australian dancers’ experiences with healthcare. Twenty self-identifying professional dancers (10 in the United States and 10 in Australia) participated in semi-structured interviews reflecting on their experiences with healthcare. Their narratives address topics such as injury, access, self-care, mental-health, pregnancy, and insurance. Data collection took place during August of 2016 through August of 2017. After member-checking and participant-feedback to validate the accuracy of narratives, content analysis of themes was conducted and is ongoing. Emergent themes included: 1. “knowledge of body”, 2. “complementary and alternative medicine”, and 3. “receiving dance-specific care”. Implications for healthcare professionals include growing a dance-specific network of different kinds of practitioners and working towards an integrated care model.
Christine Suniti Bhat, Dr. (Committee Chair)
Thoman Davis, Dr. (Committee Member)
Janet Simon, Dr. (Committee Member)
Peter Mather, Dr. (Committee Member)
Claire Hiller, Dr. (Committee Member)
284 p.
Dance; Health; Health Care; Mental Health
Dance; healthcare; qualitative; international; mental health; dance science

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Descoteaux, J. (2018). Dancers’ Reflections on Their Healthcare Experiences: Perspectives from Australia and the USA [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1530538560639848

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Descoteaux, Jill. Dancers’ Reflections on Their Healthcare Experiences: Perspectives from Australia and the USA . 2018. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1530538560639848.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Descoteaux, Jill. "Dancers’ Reflections on Their Healthcare Experiences: Perspectives from Australia and the USA ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1530538560639848

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1530538560639848
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© 2018, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.