Expressive Arts Interventions to Improve Psychosocial Well-Being in Caregivers: A Systematic Review

Carolyn S Phillips; Megan Hebdon; Catie Cleary; Dona Ravandi; Vyshnavi Pottepalli; Zaniah Siddiqi; Erin Rodriguez; Barbara L Jones

doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.11.026

Expressive Arts Interventions to Improve Psychosocial Well-Being in Caregivers: A Systematic Review

J Pain Symptom Manage. 2024 Mar;67(3):e229-e249. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.11.026. Epub 2023 Dec 2.

Authors

Carolyn S Phillips¹, Megan Hebdon², Catie Cleary², Dona Ravandi², Vyshnavi Pottepalli³, Zaniah Siddiqi³, Erin Rodriguez⁴, Barbara L Jones⁵

Affiliations

¹ The University of Texas at Austin (C.S.P., M.H., C.C.), School of Nursing, Austin, Texas, USA. Electronic address: Carolyn.phillips@nursing.utexas.edu.
² The University of Texas at Austin (C.S.P., M.H., C.C.), School of Nursing, Austin, Texas, USA.
³ The University of Texas at Austin (D.R., V.P., Z.S.), Austin, Texas, USA.
⁴ Department of Educational Psychology (E.R.), The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.
⁵ The University of Texas at Austin (B.L.J.), Steve Hicks School of Social Work, Austin, Texas, USA.

PMID: 38043748
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.11.026

Abstract

Context: Over 43 million caregivers provide care and support in the United States. Increased stress and burden may contribute to poor psychosocial well-being. Recently, there has been an emergence of art-based interventions to improve well-being among care receivers and caregivers. A synthesis of this literature evaluating expressive arts interventions (EAIs) with caregivers is needed.

Objectives: Identify the nature and impact of EAIs for caregivers and outline directions for future research.

Methods: Systematic searches were conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, and Web of Science for relevant studies between 2001 and 2022. Inclusion criteria included EAI addressing psychosocial well-being of caregivers, quantitative and mixed methods studies, and written in English.

Results: Twenty-seven studies were included (1359 participants). There was a diverse global representation of countries (n = 14). Twelve studies were randomized controlled trials. The majority (n = 11) were conducted with dementia/alzheimers caregivers and 41% (n = 11) were delivered to the caregiver/receiver dyad. Fifty-nine percent of the EAIs were music-based, 22% were visual arts, and 10% were writing. Intervention length varied from a single one-hour session to biweekly for 10-months; eight lasted two-weeks. Overall, stress improved in 80% of the studies, anxiety in 69%, caregiver burden in 57%, and depressive symptoms in 31%.

Conclusion: Caregivers are essential to the care of people with medically complex and life-limiting conditions. EAIs hold the potential to improve psychosocial outcomes for caregivers, are used globally, and can be culturally tailored. Future research should examine intervention duration and intensity, measures to address additional dimensions of psychsocial well-being, and implementation in additional caregiver populations.

Keywords: Expressive art; anxiety; burden; caregiver; psychosocial well-being; stress.

Publication types

Systematic Review
Review

MeSH terms

Alzheimer Disease*
Anxiety
Anxiety Disorders
Caregivers* / psychology
Humans
Quality of Life / psychology