Dance for health impact in a rural Scottish island community: understanding stakeholder experiences

Research and practice around dance for promoting health and well-being are rapidly expanding, especially dance for chronic neurological conditions. Yet, research has primarily focused on assessing individual-level therapeutic outcomes, providing limited insight into broader stakeholder voices and community-level health impacts. In response, a longitudinal qualitative interview study was conducted to explore stakeholder perspectives on the community impact of a collaborative, community-centred dance for multiple sclerosis (MS) initiative in a rural Scottish island community. Repeated semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 19 participants, recruited purposively across three fieldwork visits. Participants included organizational partners, dance practitioners, musicians, volunteers, and dancers with MS. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes were developed: (i) amplifying specialist community dance capacity, supporting individual practitioners and the island's wider dance industry; (ii) promoting social capital and inclusion among the diverse local stakeholders involved, especially those living with MS; and (iii) providing a holistic well-being resource for participant dancers with MS, affording regular opportunities for physical, joyful, and meaningful activity through dance. By adopting a broader health promotion perspective, findings show that community-centred dance for health initiatives can generate a range of impacts in rural contexts both among and beyond the primary target participant group (i.e. people with MS), supporting capacity, inclusion, and well-being. Given the breadth of community impacts reported, findings also highlight the importance of maintaining such changes locally, suggesting the need for further consideration around organizational planning, support, and investment in the long-term sustainability of dance for health in rural contexts.