Abstract
An emerging body of research indicates that active arts engagement can enhance older adults’ health and experienced well-being, but scientific evidence is still fragmented. There is a research gap in understanding arts engagement grounded in a multidimensional conceptualization of the value of health and well-being from older participants’ perspectives. This Dutch nation-wide study aimed to explore the broader value of arts engagement on older people’s perceived health and well-being in 18 participatory arts-based projects (dance, music, singing, theater, visual arts, video, and spoken word) for community-dwelling older adults and those living in long term care facilities. In this study, we followed a participatory design with narrative- and arts-based inquiry. We gathered micro-narratives from older people and their (in)formal caregivers (n = 470). The findings demonstrate that arts engagement, according to participants, resulted in (1) positive feelings, (2) personal and artistic growth, and (3) increased meaningful social interactions. This study concludes that art-based practices promote older people’s experienced well-being and increase the quality of life of older people. This study emphasizes the intrinsic value of arts engagement and has implications for research and evaluation of arts engagement.
Highlights
The corona disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has shown the challenges of long-term care for older people worldwide [1,2,3,4]
According to the participating older adults, we demonstrate that arts engagement produces (1) positive feelings, (2) personal and artistic growth, and (3) increased quality of social interactions
We present the highlights from the analysis of the experiences with the art projects: (1) arts participation brings positive feelings, (2) arts participation stimulates personal and artistic growth, and (3) arts participation creates meaningful social interactions
Summary
The corona disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has shown the challenges of long-term care for older people worldwide [1,2,3,4] It highlights the need for different solutions to improve the health and well-being of older adults and promote active aging. The field of arts and health movement aims to contribute to improving the health and well-being of, among others, older adults living at home, attending daycare, or living in a long-term care facility [5] Both and before the pandemic, art projects have been launched in longterm care to improve the health and well-being of older adults in various countries [6,7,8,9]. Many studies on the value of arts engagement regarding older people’s quality of life have focused on a particular outcome concerning well-being, ranging from clinical and psychological to social and spiritual outcomes [13]
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