Participatory art-based activity, community-dwelling older adults and changes in health condition: Results from a pre-post intervention, single-arm, prospective and longitudinal study

Olivier Beauchet; Thomas Bastien; Mary Mittelman; Yoko Hayashi; Andy Hau Yan Ho

doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2020.01.006

Participatory art-based activity, community-dwelling older adults and changes in health condition: Results from a pre-post intervention, single-arm, prospective and longitudinal study

Maturitas. 2020 Apr:134:8-14. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2020.01.006. Epub 2020 Jan 13.

Authors

Olivier Beauchet¹, Thomas Bastien², Mary Mittelman³, Yoko Hayashi⁴, Andy Hau Yan Ho⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Sir Mortimer B. Davis - Jewish General Hospital and Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Dr. Joseph Kaufmann Chair in Geriatric Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre of Excellence on Longevity of McGill Integrated University Health Network, Quebec, Canada; Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Electronic address: olivier.beauchet@mcgill.ca.
² Education and Wellness Department of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
³ NYU School of Medicine, New York, USA.
⁴ Faculty of Informatica for Arts Department of Information Expression, Shobi University, Kawagoe, Japan.
⁵ Psychology Programme, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

PMID: 32143777
DOI: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2020.01.006

Abstract

Background: Participatory art-based activities enhance the well-being and quality of life of patients. Few studies have examined the effects of these activities in community-dwelling older adults. This study aims to examine changes in well-being, quality of life and frailty associated with a weekly art-based activity, known as "Thursday at the Museum", performed at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: Based on a pre-post intervention, single-arm, prospective and longitudinal design, 130 community-dwelling older adults (mean age 71.6 ± 4.9, 91.5 % female) were enrolled and completed this experimental study. The intervention was a participatory art-based activity carried out at the MMFA. Groups of participants (30-45 individuals) met for 2.3 h once a week for a 12-week period (defining a session). Before and after the first (M0), the fifth (M1), the ninth (M2) and the twelfth (M3) workshops, well-being was assessed. Quality of life, frailty, physician visits and hospitalizations were also assessed.

Results: The mean well-being score improved after each workshop compared with baseline (P ≤ 0.001), i.e., from M0 to M3. The magnitude of this change in well-being was significant at M3 when M0 was used as a reference value (coefficient of regression beta (ß) = 3.22 with P = 0.037). Quality of life gradually increased from M1 to M3 (ß increased from -0.50 to -2.1 with all P-values ≤0.003). The proportion of vigorous participants increased significantly, whereas the proportion of mild frail participants decreased at M3 only (ß=-0.70 with P = 0.001).

Conclusion: The MMFA participatory art-based activity session had multidimensional positive effects on mental and physical health outcomes. These results suggest that museums may become key partners in public health policy initiatives for health prevention in older populations.

Trialregistration: NCT03557723.

Keywords: Art; Epidemiology; Health; Museum; Older adults; Quality of life; Well-being.

MeSH terms

Aged
Art*
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Female
Frail Elderly
Frailty
Health Status*
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Middle Aged
Museums*
Program Development
Prospective Studies
Quality of Life

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT03557723