UPDATED: Please See our DECK and Refined Prototype.

Keep people at the center:

We practice empathy-driven behavior design, and are mentored by David Kelley, Dennis Boyle (IDEO), and BJ Fogg (Stanford Behavior Design expert). Based on Fogg’s Behavior Model, we increase ability by offering dance videos recorded from our in person class, enabling 24/7 access. We create effective behavior triggers, and put hot triggers in front of motivated people. Research shows people perform better in a group, but really excel with a buddy. In addition to group live video class, we also provide buddy matching.

Biotracking, Data and Proprietary Algorithms: 

We use AI to recommend personalized music and dance, as well as match caregivers with buddies and groups to optimize the participants’ experience. We won Stanford Health++ Hackathon: Intel Nervana AI Cluster Grand Prize for this feature. We also track how many classes caregivers attend, how long they dance, which videos they use, and how they feel before and afterwards. We are also planning to partner with other companies to incorporate sensor tracking. We are advised by Stanford professor Dolores Thompson, who is most noted for her empirical studies on the efficacy of psychoeducational interventions to reduce stress and improve the psychological status of family caregivers of older adults with dementia. Based on her advice, we will also use Zarit Burden Scale Short and CESD-10. 

Are affordable: 

We only require wifi and a computer with a camera. 

Naturally Integrate: 

We use technology to bring two of the most ancient healing modalities to in-home care, music and dance are known to create strong bonds.

Scalable: 

We are working with OnLok to launch a program designed to reduce anxiety and depression for dementia patients and their caregivers. We plan to scale that to 233 PACE (Programs of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly) centers nationwide, serving over 40,000 participants. OnLok founded PACE for the federal government and it is internationally recognized as an eldercare leader. PACE is also praised by caregivers for relieving burden, offering breaks, enabling a better focus on mental and physical health, and allowing them to spend more time with their families.

Dance4Healing supports caregivers in 5 areas:

1. Alleviate burden by helping manage complex behaviors of the care-recipient: 

Research shows dancing increases oxytocin, and reduces stress, anxiety, and depression. The Alzheimer’s Society recommends music and dance to help reduce agitation and aggressive behavior. 

2. Empower them with tools to stimulate care-recipients’ sensory, cognitive, and social activities: 

Research shows dancing reduces the risk of dementia by 76%, cardiovascular death by 46%. It improves balance by 50%, prevents falling, and reduces pain. Hand/finger exercises increase motor skills, brain communication efficiency, coordination, and timing. See this link for astonishing clinical researches on power of Creative Arts Therapy for various disease.

3. Strengthen the bond that may be strained by role-reversal:

Music and dance can reduce tensions, foster quality time, cultivate treasured moments of clarity, ignite joy and bonding, and create meaningful memories that surpass time and space, and alleviate some of the challenges of caregiving. 

4. Instill a sense of purpose, enable emotional and physical resilience:

Dance not only is a powerful mental and physical exercise, but it is also an artistic expression of the human body that enables caregivers to express their difficulties and uplift their sense of purpose and fulfillment. 

5. Better in-home care and reduction of social isolation:

Our platform is designed to bring creative arts therapy into home care settings:

-Telehealth Live Video Platform: uses WebRTC (Real Time Communication) technology, which won Best Use of AT&T Enhanced WebRTC top prize.  Dance4Healing offers in-person and online dance classes. These classes are filmed, edited, and then posted on our platform.  This enables caregivers and their loved ones to dance alone, with family, friends, or a matching buddy, anytime and anywhere.

-Action-Driven Caregiver Communities: We connect caregivers and elders similar to “Patients Like Me” by enticing them to dance together through our “buddy matching” system. This system matches caregivers based on personality, energy level, taste in music and dance, and most importantly health conditions.  

-Cross-Generation Matching: Imagine how happy a grandparent could be dancing with their grandchildren, like the persona Yessenia provided by IDEO.org. Dance4Healing utilizes gamification and social encouragement to increase patient engagement.  62% of teenagers feel lonely, but by connecting them to grandparents, we reduce the caregiver’s burden in care for their kids, as shared in AgingWellHub’s journey map. Teenages can also help elders with technology adoptions.