A Systematic Review of Irish Dance Screening Tests

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Dance Science
• Performance Analysis

Background:

• Screening tests are crucial for assessing dancer health and performance.
• Numerous screening tests exist, but none are specifically validated for Irish dancers.
• A comprehensive review of existing screening practices in Irish dance was lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically identify and categorize screening tests currently utilized in the Irish dance population.
• To assess the quality of existing research on screening methods for Irish dancers.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was conducted across six major medical databases.
• Keywords included "Irish Danc*" and "Test* OR assess* OR screen* OR evaluat*."
• Inclusion criteria were full-text English articles; quality was assessed using NIH tools.

Main Results:

• Twenty-two articles met inclusion criteria, revealing over 50 distinct screening tests.
• Tests were categorized as subjective (e.g., health, psychological well-being) or objective (e.g., strength, flexibility, balance).
• No screening test was found to be validated specifically for Irish dancers, with varied methodological quality.

Conclusions:

• The screening of Irish dancers is diverse, lacking standardized norms for different age groups and skill levels.
• There is a critical need for the development and validation of specific screening tests tailored to the unique demands of Irish dance.
• Future research should prioritize validating screening tools to enhance dancer health and performance monitoring.