Tenovus Sing For Life - Research study
Nichola Gale, Dr Stephanie Enright, Dr Robert van Deursen
School of Healthcare studies
Cardiff University
In January 2010, Tenovus in partnership with the motivation and
team building company Sing and Inspire, set up a choir for people
affected by cancer to determine if this could act as an alternative
support group.
To determine whether the choir actually improved the lives of
the choir members, Tenovus worked together with a team from the
School of Healthcare Studies at Cardiff University to measure their
health and wellbeing before, during and at the end of the choir's
initial 3 month pilot period.
Despite being carried out over a relatively short period of
time, the evaluation of the pilot study showed that the choir
brought about statistically significant improvements in social
function, mental health and even a reduction in perceived pain in
the choristers. It also reduced depression and anxiety in those
that reported suffering from these conditions prior to taking part
in the choir.
These results and the personal testimonies that we have
collected from the members of the choir showed that a choir can be
an excellent support group. Today the choir continues to perform
under the name of the Tenovus Sing For Life Choir and we plan to
work in partnership with Sing and Inspire and Cardiff University to
widen the project out across Wales.