Abstract

The ‘SING 4 HEALTH’ project is now in its third edition and includes developing a singing programme aimed at the senior population to help promote their health and well-being. It is funded by the Belmiro de Azevedo Foundation and promoted by Facetas Talento. Inspired by a community arts approach, the project is based on the premise that making music in a group is favourable for the development of personal and social skills, as well as musical skills (Dickens, 2013), and is an effective way of achieving better levels of coordination between members of a group and sharing emotions (Kirschner, 2010; Koopman, 2007).
The team at the Centre for Educational Research and Intervention is responsible for the scientific study of the intervention, seeking to understand how participation in the singing programme contributes to the health of older people. Using a mixed methodology made up of ethnographic observation, semi-structured interviews,  pre-test and post- test questionnaire surveys, the aim is to understand the effects of the project on the well-being of the users, particularly in the dimensions related to a sense of community and social skills, and their relationship with the development of musical skills.

CoPIn

PCEP - Participation, Communities and Political Education

Funding

Fundação Belmiro de Azevedo

Principal Investigator

Sofia Castanheira Pais

Team

Isabel Menezes

João Caramelo

Pedro Ferreira

Partners

Facetas de Talento
Academia de Musica Vilar de Paraíso
CIIE/Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto