The value of active arts engagement on health and well‐being of older adults: A nation‐wide participatory study

Barbara Groot, Lieke de Kock, Yosheng Liu, Christine Dedding, Janine Schrijver, Truus Teunissen, Margo van Hartingsveldt, Jan Menderink, Yvonne Lengams, Jolanda Lindenberg, Tineke Abma

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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.
Original languageEnglish
Article number8222
JournalInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume18
Issue number15
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2021
Externally publishedYes

Funding

Funding: This research was funded by ZonMw, grant number 1035001.191.0001. This study includes 18 art‐engagement projects for older people (Table 1). In this case, the art projects, refer to activities organized by professional artists who operate outside of long‐term care facilities or provide their services to such establishments. All projects in this study focus on active arts engagement (performing art activities, not just watching, or discussing artwork) with older adults in the Netherlands. All 18 projects were selected by arts and health funding bodies (RCOAK Foundation and Sluyterman van Loo Foundation) and a national health research and innovation organization (ZonMw) and received financial support for 18 months (January 2020 to July 2021) to continue their projects and contribute to the study. The selection criteria were the maximum variation in terms of the art form (e.g., dance, music, singing, theater, visual arts, video, and spoken word), geographical region (urban vs. rural, north, east, west, and south), variety of older adults (living independently, receiving (day)care, or living in long‐term care facilities), and project scale (a small project has one facilitator with one group of participants in one location, a medium project has one or a maximum of five facilitators and groups of participants, usually all in a similar location and a large project has more facilitators, and activities and groups of participants all over the country).

FundersFunder number
RCOAK Foundation
Fonds Sluyterman van Loo
ZonMw1035001.191.0001
national health research and innovation organization

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