Arts-based Interventions Research Articles

Guidelines for art-based interventions in parental training

Art-based parental training involves engaging the parents in creative processes and the observation of their art products. The current paper presents guidelines for art-based parental training, based on the assumption that the encounter between the world of art and the world of therapy creates a rich triangular relationship between therapist, parent, and artwork. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 art therapists who described their experiences and the interventions they have developed for parents. The findings show how these interventions can be applied in clinical settings and how these art therapists see the impact of these art-based interventions on the therapeutic process. Most therapists believe that encouraging parents to create spontaneously and authentically in a suitable environment that contains a range of art materials for painting and sculpture can support the initiation of emotional communication on the part of the parents with themselves, their partner, and their child. In this type of therapy, the parents’ responses and the creative product are primordial since they are considered to reflect the parents’ development, personal skills, fields of interest, concerns, and difficulties. The guidelines are derived from these findings.

Arts-Based Interventions and Social Change in Europe, Andrea Kárpáti (ed.)

Arts-Based Interventions and Social Change in Europe, Andrea Kárpáti (ed.)

Evaluating Criteria and Art-Based Interventions for Littering Behavior of Millennials in Yogyakarta

Evaluating Criteria and Art-Based Interventions for Littering Behavior of Millennials in Yogyakarta

Women with disabilities, body image, and wellbeing: Assessing the effectiveness of dance sessions

IntroductionThere is growing research evidence on bodily discourses and body image issues of women with disabilities. Within the art-based intervention repertoire for persons with disabilities, dance and movement-based therapies and interventions are gaining prominence. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of dance sessions (delivered online) on body image, body satisfaction/dissatisfaction, and wellbeing of women with disabilities. MethodA quasi-experimental waitlist control design study was conducted with data collected at two time points: baseline or pre-test and five-months later or post-test. Outcomes were measured using the Body Image Scale and the WHO-5-Wellbeing Index. ResultsThe dance sessions were effective (Hedges’ g = −0.56 –0.88; p < 0.01) and post-test body dissatisfaction scores were lower and wellbeing scores were higher for participants with a college degree or postgraduate degree, self-employed or students, and whose intervention compliance was above threshold (>50% dance sessions attended and corresponding homework sessions completed). Tobit regression models indicated that it was possible to estimate post-test outcomes due to dance sessions alone, controlling for significant socio-demographics. DiscussionThe domain knowledge of non-pharmacological art-based interventions for persons with disabilities, particularly women, is supported. ConclusionsFindings commend dance sessions as effective psychotherapeutic mechanisms to mitigate body dissatisfaction, improve body image and wellbeing of women with disabilities. Future research may focus on large-scale cross-sectional trials, variations in the repertoire for women with different disability types and histories, and qualitative narratives.

A Pilot Study Using a Virtual Art-Based Intervention to Support Well-Being in Persons With Cognitive Impairment and Their Care-Partners

ObjectivesWith aging, interventions promoting emotional well-being and cognitive function become essential, especially for persons with cognitive impairment (PCIs) and their care-partners (CPs). Art-based interventions, specifically Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), have strong evidence of promoting observational skills and professional identity formation in education settings, yet little work has been done in clinical settings. The recent pandemic presented a unique need and opportunity for PCIs and their CPs to engage in enriching remote experiences. MethodsThis study piloted a 3-session virtual program using VTS-led facilitated discussion of visual art for 3 PCI-CP dyads to assess the impact on measures of emotional well-being and self-esteem, and to obtain feedback from participants about their experience. ResultsFindings indicated that virtual VTS activities for PCI-CP dyads were feasible and well-accepted by both PCIs and CPs. ConclusionsVirtual art interventions may have the potential to promote and sustain emotional well-being for PCIs and CPs.

Non-pharmacological interventions on quality of life in stroke survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Non-pharmacological interventions have been used in the rehabilitation of stroke survivors, but their effects on stroke survivors' quality of life (QoL) are unknown. This review aimed to summarize the existing evidence regarding non-pharmacological interventions for QoL in stroke survivors and to evaluate the effectiveness of different types of interventions. We systematically searched databases including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese BioMedical Literature Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database, and Wanfang data from the earliest available records to March 2023. Randomized controlled trials which explored the effects of non-pharmacological interventions on QoL in stroke patients were included. The meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of different interventions on QoL. The Review Manager 5.3 was used to conduct the meta-analysis and the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool was used to assess the methodological quality of trials. A total of 93,245 records were identified, and 34 articles were reviewed and summarized, of which 20 articles were included in the meta-analysis. The summary of the findings of the included studies revealed fitness training, constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), physical exercise, music therapy (MT), and art-based interventions may have positive effects on QoL. The fitness training improved total QoL, especially in physical domains including physical functioning (mean difference [MD] = 10.90; 95% CI [7.20, 14.59]), role physical (MD = 10.63; 95% CI [6.71, 14.55]), and global health (MD = 8.76; 95% CI [5.14, 12.38]). The CIMT had a slight effect on general QoL (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.48, 95% CI [0.16, 0.80]), whereas significantly improved strength (MD = 8.84; 95% CI [1.31, 16.38]), activities of daily living/instrumental activities of daily living (ADL/IADL; MD = 10.42; 95% CI [2.98, 17.87]), and mobility (MD = 8.02; 95% CI [1.21, 14.83]). MT had a positive effect on the mental health domain (SMD = 0.54; 95% CI [0.14, 0.94]). Our findings suggest that fitness training and CIMThave a significant effect on improving physical QoL, while MThas a positive effect on improving psychological QoL. Future studies may use comprehensive and multicomponent interventions to simultaneously improve the patients' physical, psychological, and social QoL.

Understanding how classroom drama workshops can facilitate social capital for newly arrived migrant and refugee adolescents: Insights from Denmark.

Art-based interventions, such as classroom drama workshops (CDWs), increasingly form part of a collection of mental health-promoting activities introduced in school settings. While research points to the potential benefits of CDWs for the mental well-being of refugee and migrant adolescents, the mechanisms to such improvement are less understood. In this article we respond to the need for qualitative evidence of how CDW interventions affect refugee and migrant adolescents' experience. The study draws on eight focus group discussions (FGDs) with 41 adolescents, four semi-structured interviews with teachers and a school coordinator, and written documents from two drama therapists. Our thematic analysis revealed that the CDWs were found to foster trust and improve social relations in the classroom-key facets of bonding social capital. Several processes were described as being linked to these changes. Participants spoke about how the CDWs were facilitated in an emancipatory and safe manner, creating social spaces where the adolescents could have fun together, share, and bear witness to each other's stories, as well as experiencing a sense of agency. In some cases, however, activities in the CDWs crossed the learners' psychological boundaries, which led to withdrawal and a loss of trust. We conclude that whilst CDWs have the potential to facilitate bonding social capital amongst refugee and migrant adolescents and their teachers, this potential hinges on how the CDWs are facilitated.

Resilient Warriors: A Mixed Methods Investigation of an Expressive Arts-Based Resiliency Small Group Intervention With Rural Children

Upper elementary students in a Title I rural school participated in an expressive arts-based resiliency small-group intervention entitled Resilient Warriors (RWs). This mixed-methods study revealed positive changes in participating students based on teacher ratings on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. We also found four qualitative themes that emerged from student group interviews: (a) learning resiliency strategies and skills, (b) growth, (c) enjoyment and fun, and (d) future recommendations. We discuss the study implications, limitations, and future recommendations.

ArtSpective™ for Perinatal Substance Use: Feasibility of an Arts-Based Intervention Addressing Stigma.

The purpose of this proof-of-concept pilot study was to test the initial feasibility and limited efficacy of ArtSpective™ for perinatal substance use (PSU), a novel, arts-based intervention designed to decrease stigmatizing attitudes toward PSU. Using a pre-post mixed methods quasi-experimental design, ArtSpective™ for PSU was pilot tested for proof of concept among a convenience sample of 11 undergraduate and graduate students with experience in maternal-infant nursing from a Midwestern U.S. nursing school. As a proof-of-concept pilot study, we evaluated feasibility (acceptability, demand, and implementation) and limited efficacy. Participants completed presurveys and postsurveys that included satisfaction items, demographic items, and an adapted version of the Attitudes About Drug Use in Pregnancy Scale and participated in a focus group. Focus group data were analyzed using constant comparative methods, and survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Participants reported high demand and satisfaction with the intervention and provided recommendations to improve scalability. ArtSpective™ demonstrated significant improvement in stigma toward PSU (pre vs. post: p = .003; d = .633). ArtSpective™ for PSU demonstrated initial feasibility and limited efficacy for improving nurse attitudes toward PSU. Efforts are needed to further test this novel intervention, adapt it to augment existing educational interventions, and improve its scalability.

Developing a strategy to scale up place-based arts initiatives that support mental health and wellbeing: A realist evaluation of 'Arts for the Blues'.

Place-based arts initiatives are regarded as rooted in local need and as having capacity to engage local assets. However, many place-based arts initiatives remain poorly funded and short-lived, receiving little attention on how to scale up and sustain their activities. In this study we make a unique contribution to knowledge about scaling up place-based arts initiatives that support mental health and wellbeing through focusing on the example of 'Arts for the Blues', an arts-based psychological group intervention designed to reduce depression and improve wellbeing amongst primary care mental health service users in deprived communities. Methodologically, we used realist evaluation to refine the study's theoretical assumptions about scaling up, drawing on the lived and professional experiences of 225 diverse stakeholders' and frontline staff through a series of focus groups and evaluation questions at two stakeholders' events and four training days. Based on our findings, we recommend that to scale up place-based arts initiatives which support mental health and wellbeing: (i) the initiative needs to be adaptable, clear, collaborative, evidence-based, personalised and transformative; (ii) the organisation has to have a relevant need, have an understanding of the arts, has to have resources, inspiration and commitment from staff members, relevant skillsets and help from outside the organisation; (iii) at a policy level it is important to pay attention to attitude shifts towards the arts, meet rules, guidelines and standards expected from services, highlight gaps in provision, seek out early intervention and treatment options, and consider service delivery changes. The presence of champions at a local level and buy-in from managers, local leaders and policy makers are also needed alongside actively seeking to implement arts initiatives in different settings across geographical spread. Our theoretically-based and experientially-refined study provides the first ever scaling up framework developed for place-based arts initiatives that support the mental health and wellbeing, offering opportunities for spread and adoption of such projects in different organisational contexts, locally, nationally and internationally.

Art and Nature: Enhancing Well-Being and Cognitive Recovery Healthcare Environments Through Immersive Nature-Inspired Interventions in Malaysia

Over the years, healthcare environments have evolved to improve patient health by implementing non-invasive methods that can alleviate stress, anxiety, and cognitive fatigue, all of which have a significant impact on patients’ outcomes. As hospitals tend to have a sterile and impersonal environment, it is critical to explore alternative therapeutic tools. This conceptual paper explores the potential of immersive media art as a therapeutic intervention in the healthcare environment to promote well-being and enhance patient outcomes through immersive nature-inspired experiences. The paper draws qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, and art therapists), patients, and industry experts, artists or designers, as well as observational data from the installations within healthcare environments can positively impact patient mental health and recovery. This study synthesizes insights from Stress Recovery Theory (SRT), Attention Restoration Theory (ART), and Flow Theory (FT) in psychology to develop a comprehensive framework for understanding how immersive nature-inspired interventions can enhance cognitive functioning, reduce stress, and improve emotional well-being in healthcare environments. The finding reveals that immersive media art can help to reduce stress, and these findings provide support for the idea that interactive media art is an effective means not only of cognitive restoration but also of attaining a flow state enabling emotional resilience. It also emphasizes the design of healthcare environments where biophilic and patient-centered spaces enhance and potentiate virtuosity in media arts interventions. This study contributes to the literature on art-based interventions in healthcare by highlighting the value of immersive, interactive environments that bridge the therapeutic qualities of nature and art. These findings provide insights for healthcare providers and policymakers seeking to implement alternative, patient-centered approaches to well-being. It provides an illustrative framework that could guide healthcare providers and designers in applying media arts to support holistic patient care conditions. Future research should explore diverse patient populations and examine long-term impacts on clinical outcomes.

Mapping the Impact: A Comprehensive Review of Art-Based Interventions for Dementia (2000-2022)

The global arts in healthcare movement affects patient care and hospital surroundings. This paper reviews and bibliometrically analyzes Impact Art-Based Intervention for Dementia Patients from 2000 to 2022. A total of 57 documents were created on October 16, 2022, using Rstudio 4.2.1 and biblioshiny for bibliometrix. These papers were used for doing an in-depth study to identify research patterns. In Scopus, Dementia is the most popular journal, and in Web of Science, Dementia-International Journal of Social Research and Practice. Scopus uses “Dementia” as the most common author keyword and add keyword, but Web of Science uses “Impact”. Most popular writers include Camic, P. M. (Scopus), Charura, D., and Surr, C (WoS). UK scientific papers dominate Scopus and Web of Science. Scopus is most associated with Canterbury Christ Church University, whereas Web of Science is Leeds Beckett University.

Unlocking the muse - Developing arts-based approaches for people with Parkinson’s disease

Interventions considering the arts are increasingly gaining acceptance in the clinical-methodological repertoire, and in supporting people with diseases. However, current approaches are often limited considering the variety of offered creative activities and are neglecting the influence of the artistic context. Furthermore, there is often a focus on momentary well-being primarily and not on the impact on quality of life, missing centralization around the transferability of creative engagement and art-based interventions into daily life issues. The goal of our study is the implementation of a person-centered, art-based program. &#x0D; We offer people with Parkinson’s a program wherein they participate in orientation sessions (playgrounds) to find preferred activities, and in specialization sessions (artist studio’s) to develop deep engagement/flow in the preferred activities. Self-direction by participants and a psychological safe environment, are the cornerstones of this program. The first group of participants (n=5) took part in a pilot study. A second pilot and full trial will take place early 2023.&#x0D; The activities can address both instrumental (practical utilization) and non-instrumental (existential) creativity, with the upper goal to increase the individuum’s quality of life as the main outcome variable. Besides these three quantitative measures (pre/post), individual open interviews (pre/peri/post) are held and analyzed using thematic and grounded methodologies. We aim to distil the active ingredients to transform a person’s mindset and skill-set to learn that engaging with creativity is a tool for enhancing individual quality of life in a self-empowered manner. We will present the first outcomes of our study in this poster.

EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF CHORAL SINGING ON CHANGE IN PERCEIVED DISTRESS FOR CARE PARTNERS OF PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA

Abstract Family care partners (CP) of persons with dementia (PwD) report high levels of psychological distress that impact many facets of their lives. Arts-based interventions have shown promise for improving psychological health. Here, we describe findings from the Voices in Motion (ViM) study, a weekly lifestyle intervention for CP-PwD dyads, with specific emphasis on examining the impact of choral singing on level and change in perceived distress for CP. Data from n=29 CP (Mage=67.7 years, 80% female) were used to examine change in caregiver distress, indexed using the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI). ViM employed an intensive longitudinal design characterized by monthly retests embedded within 3.5-month choral seasons (up to 7 assessments per person). Choral seasons were separated by a 4-month summer break, yielding a naturalistic ABA experimental design optimal for evaluating the impact of choral singing on caregiver distress. Multilevel models of change with piecewise splines were fit; REML was employed due to its advantageous properties for small samples. A significant reduction in caregiver distress (-1.14 units per month, p&amp;lt;.01) was observed across the 3.3-month span of season 1. Following the 4-month summer break, level of caregiver distress at the outset of season 2 had increased back to initial baseline levels (ZBI =19.9 units – a moderate to borderline-high level), thereby underscoring the importance of the choir intervention. These findings suggest that lifestyle engagement may offer an effective complement for lessening the impact of caregiver distress for CP, with implications for the development of dementia care plans.

DEVELOPING A CONCEPTUAL MODEL TO ASSESS ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITHIN A DEMENTIA CAREGIVER INTERVENTION

Abstract Active engagement is identified as an effective component of psychoeducational interventions for caregivers of persons living with dementia. There are many approaches to active engagement; however, limited assessment of this component within interventions reduces optimization and standardization. To fill this gap and increase transparency, we aimed to strengthen active engagement by developing Enhancing Active Caregiver Training (EnACT), an arts-based intervention designed to help caregivers address the behavioral symptoms of dementia. The intervention uses multi-sensory activities, including interacting with caregiver-informed vignettes, to foster engagement and process caregiving experiences. We partnered with caregivers of persons living with dementia (n=9) to iteratively refine EnACT through six focus groups. The purpose of this presentation is to report the process we took to identify how intervention participants actively engaged with EnACT. Focus group data were analyzed using process coding to identify the patterns of participant engagement with 17 intervention activities. The process codes were mapped to create a diagram of participant engagement for each activity. These diagrams were used to develop the EnACT Cycle of Engagement, a conceptual model illustrating how participants engaged with the intervention. The three-step model illustrates that: 1) antecedents (personal and intervention) contribute to 2) interaction with EnACT through participation, contribution, and application, which leads to 3) EnACT’s hypothesized proximal outcomes (capacity to adapt and appraisal of caregiving demands) and distal outcomes (perceived stress and caregiver well-being). The EnACT engagement model will be tested in the forthcoming randomized control trial assessing feasibility and acceptability.

Implementing a singing-based intervention for postpartum depression in Denmark and Romania: a brief research report.

There is a burgeoning evidence-base that demonstrates the positive impact of the arts on our health, wellbeing, and health behaviors. However, very few studies have focused on how to optimize the implementation of these activities for different sociocultural contexts. Due to the increasing interest in scaling effective arts interventions as part of public health strategies, and in line with global goals of achieving health equity, this is an essential focus. Using the case study of a singing for post-partum depression (PPD) intervention with empirically-demonstrated clinical effects, this brief research report explores implementation of an arts and health intervention that has been successful in the United Kingdom ("Music and Motherhood") for the new contexts of Silkeborg (Denmark) and Cluj-Napoca (Romania). Data was collected from participants at all levels of the implementation structure including at local and management levels. The study draws on qualitative implementation data to explore participant experiences, including one-to-one interviews, written testimonies, meeting minutes, ethnographic researcher reflections and focus groups, including data from 46 participants in total. We explore implementation and adaptation across five key themes: (1) acceptability and feasibility; (2) practical and structural barriers and enablers; (3) adoption and sustainability; (4) broader contextual factors affecting implementation and sustainability; and (5) project structure and processes. Taken together, the themes demonstrate that arts interventions need to be adapted in culturally sensitive ways by stakeholders who have local knowledge of their environments. This research serves as an informative foundation for use by other researchers that aim to expand the reach and impact of arts-based interventions.

The atmospheric attunement of diversity interventions: learnings from a dance performance

ABSTRACT Since the start of diversity management in organizations, interventions have been primarily oriented toward altering individuals’ cognition, missing out on the potential of the embodied and materially mediated character of learning and interacting as experimented with in arts-based interventions. In this study, through ethnographically exploring a dance performance, whose main purpose is to create a community between a diverse cast and audience, we aim to rethink interventions around diversity. In particular, we turn to the notion of atmospheric attunement to investigate how, in this artistic context, a diverse group of people learns to relate differently. From this, we theorize two conditions of possibility for thinking differently about diversity interventions: (1) a sentient focus on atmospheric attuning that collectively connects embodied differences, and (2) the material mediation of nonhuman elements that enables the co-creation of these affirmative experiences. Together, both conditions suggest considering diversity intervention as a politics of affirmative experience.

Can arts-based interventions reduce children’s peri-operative anxiety in paediatrics? A discussion of representative studies

This narrative literature review aims to provide a broad scope and objective analysis by identifying and summarizing published works surrounding the current research into how different forms of non-pharmaceutical and non-invasive arts-based methods can be used to reduce children’s peri-operative anxiety in paediatrics. While our search focuses on the peri-operative anxiety context, we build on wider research on the role of the arts in paediatrics and include representative studies from the last five to seven years. We highlight the most current findings in non-invasive interventions for hospitalized children, including primarily applied theatre performance in paediatrics followed by digital arts such as video games, virtual reality and music, to gain a better understanding of the current knowledge of how non-pharmaceutical and non-invasive arts-based methods can further be utilized in surgical procedures and treatments in paediatrics, how arts practitioners and hospital staff can better collaborate in such procedures and what further research is needed in relation to such methods for reducing peri-operative anxiety in children.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of art-based psychological distraction on school-aged children’s pain and anxiety during painful procedures

Abstract Aim. This study aimed to investigate whether arts-based interventions are effective in reducing the pain and anxiety of children during venipuncture. Material and methods. Our search involved 9 databases, including Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, ScienceDirect, Scopus, MEDLINE, EMBASE via PsycINFO, LILACS, ERIC, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Dissertation Abstracts International until 31 December 2021. Clinical trials in humans published in English randomized or non-randomized were the main criteria for eligibility. Results. We included five RCTs in our review and all were included in our meta-analysis. Quantitative analysis of different clinical parameters was described. In the art-based intervention compared with the control group in terms of reduction in pain mean deviation was -0.68; 95% confidence interval: -1.14, -0.22), whereas the art-based intervention compared with the control group in terms of anxiety reduction mean deviation: -0.78; 95% confidence interval: -1.47, -0.09) during venipuncture procedures. Conclusions. In this study, art-based interventions were found to be effective for children undergoing venipuncture. However, most studies have a high risk of bias and are of low quality, so the results cannot be generalized.

Exploring attunement among clinicians-in-training via group drumming

Referring to profound, deeply felt and embodied states of oneness, experiences of attunement are foundational to healthy human development. In clinical practice, these experiences promote therapeutic alliance and support healing, particularly in the context of relational wounding. Occurring through a process of ‘tuning in,’ attuned states contribute to the development of relationally based and embodied knowledge and may be facilitated through group arts-based experiences. Within this exploration of attunement, master’s level clinicians-in-training engaged in an improvisational group drumming intervention. Drawing on a synthesis of knowledge from diverse fields, multimodal forms of measurement, including perceptual, behavioral, and physiological, were utilized to elucidate and contextualize an occurrence of attunement. Findings shed light on the phenomenon of attunement, its relevance to the education of mental health practitioners and arts-based therapies, and how it may be facilitated to promote effective clinical practice. Use of advanced motion capture and physiological monitoring technologies opens doors for future research focused on the interpersonal nature and benefits of arts-based interventions.