Play Elements as Mechanisms in Intergenerational Arts Activities to Support Community Engagement with End-of-Life Issues.

Max Kleijberg,Beth Maina Ahlberg,Carol Tishelman,Rebecca Hilton

doi:10.3390/healthcare9060764

Abstract

Talking about dying, death, and loss may be difficult. Arts offer alternative ways of engaging with end-of-life (EoL) issues, but little is known about the means through which this occurs. In this article, we aim to explore mechanisms in arts activities that support community engagement with EoL issues, based on the community-based participatory action research project Studio DöBra. Studio DöBra was developed to support community engagement with EoL issues through intergenerational arts workshops involving community partners, children, and older adults. Initial analysis with community partners indicated the importance of play elements in arts activities. Continued analysis was therefore abductive, using play theory and qualitative data from Studio DöBra arts activities. Through iterative examination of theory and data, we modified play theory as we identified mechanisms supporting community engagement with EoL issues in arts activities. Findings can contribute to theory-building that can inform arts activities supporting community engagement with EoL issues.

Highlights

Introduction and Aim death and loss are all around us—in our private lives, in the news, and other media—talking about these issues may be difficult as they are often considered sensitive and involve experiences that may be difficult to put into words [1,2]
We use our modification of play elements from theory, to explain mechanisms supporting community engagement with EoL issues in arts activities
We refer to examples from Studio DöBra arts activities

Summary

Introduction

Introduction and Aim death and loss are all around us—in our private lives, in the news, and other media—talking about these issues may be difficult as they are often considered sensitive and involve experiences that may be difficult to put into words [1,2]. Arts activities have been used in healthcare settings, death education, and therapies to ease communication about EoL issues [2,3,6]. They are used for health promotion purposes to engage communities in EoL issues, helping to encourage conversation and increase the sense of social support [2,7]. Examples of arts activities include painting, music making, dance, and pottery, with generally a focus on arts processes rather than finished products [2,5].

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