Assistant Professor Vivien Wu Xi is recognised for her research and development of the Community Dance Programme at Lions Befrienders, from 2020 to 2022.

  Assistant Professor Vivien Wu Xi receiving the Exemplary Community Partner Award from Guest-of-Honour, Mr. Tan Chuan-Jin, Speaker of Parliament.

Recognised for the successful research and implementation of the Community Dance Programme partnered with Lions Befrienders in 2021, Assistant Professor Vivien Wu Xi and team from the National University of Singapore’s Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies (NUS Nursing) has been conferred the Exemplary Community Partner Award.

 Given out at the Lions Befrienders Appreciation & Awards 2022 held on 15 October 2022, the award reflects Lions Befrienders’ appreciation for partners who have contributed regularly through service-based or skill-based volunteering, to deliver the highest service standards to seniors.

(From left to right) Asst Prof Wu with Ms Justina Teo, Assistant Director of Special Projects & Development at Lions Befrienders, and Mr Jeremy Mok, Manager of the Active Ageing Centre at Lions Befrienders. 

The Community Dance Programme was supported by ‘Mind the Gap 200 – Mental Health Fund’, which was the result of Asst Prof Wu’s research work aimed at enhancing a holistic well-being of older adults. Her inspiration for the research stemmed from the prevailing problems that older adults face on a daily basis.

 Among an ageing population with multiple chronic diseases, the older adults may have a higher risk of developing further cognitive impairment and frailty, which could severely hinder their self-care abilities and living habits.

 According to Asst Prof Wu and her research team, their meta-analysis provided strong evidence that dance, an aerobic activity, improves cognition, muscular strength, balance, and psycho-social well-being. This meta-analysis was published at the top Nursing journal, International Journal of Nursing Studies in 2021.

 They thus curated the Community Dance Programme, which was launched in 2021 and conducted at 6 Lions Befrienders Active Ageing Centres till April 2022. The dance sessions were tailored specifically to older adults, providing them with a progressive learning journey of contemporary dance over a course of eight weeks.

 The participants immersed themselves in dance which helped develop their bodily awareness, through the introduction of basic dance techniques, while encouraging artistry and expression for enjoyment.

Older adults learning dance movements from student instructors from NUS Dance Synergy, Foo Ching Wen, a third-year student at NUS Nursing, and Meg Liang Kaili, a fourth year student at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore.

Not only did the programme benefit older adults, it also fostered intergenerational community engagement, Asst Prof Wu and her research team taught students from NUS Dance Synergy how to communicate better with older adults.

 The preliminary results demonstrated that the Community Dance Programme promotes physical function, enhances memory and mood, while providing social connection for the older adults. This encourages these seniors to live an active life and maximise their social capital within the community.

 Scaling this to a wider population of the community, Asst Prof Wu has been working closely with both Lions Befrienders and NUS Centre for the Arts, to integrate the Community Dance Programme into more activities catered to seniors. At the same time, training resources on communication with the elderly could be expanded to all NUS students, to facilitate community engagement and intergenerational interaction — promoting socio-emotional learning and intergenerational communication among the young adults.

 “This award is a great recognition and encouragement for our research team’s efforts in the past three years, in engaging older adults to live healthily in the community,” acknowledged Asst Prof Wu.

 “I am excited to make an impact on the community through research, and I look forward to a continuous partnership with Lions Befrienders to serve our seniors,” she concluded.