Authors (including presenting author) :
SS HUI (1), NY HO (2)
Affiliation :
Occupational Therapy Deparatment, Cheshire Home
Introduction :
Recent evidences indicates that engagement in artistic activities has been proposed as a non pharmacological approach to reduce cognitive decline and increase well-being and quality of life for the elderly. The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate the effects of art engagement program by using "Texture Art" to enhance the well-being for the long-term hospitalized elderly.
Objectives :
Art engagement program consists an approach that supports individual to express themselves, increase resilience, improve interpersonal skills, reduce stress and inccrease self-esteem and confidence (Shukla et al., 2022). Through the texture art activitiy, participants use acrylic paint, quartz sand, light clay, sponges and brushes to create for layered effects and 3D texture sculptures. Benefits of "Texture Art" includes emotional expression, cognitive stimulation, sensory engagement and social interaction.
Methodology :
This was a pre and post intervention study was conducted in November, 2024. Seven long-term hospitalized elderly patients were recruited for completing 3 sessions of Texture Art class that led by Occupational Therapists. Inclusion criterias were age >60, HKMoca-5 score > 19, absence of blindness and willing to join. Patients were being instructed to use the texture art's tool to create their masters pieces with 3 specific themes. Primary outcomes measures used were WHO-5, Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) and HKMoca-5. Secondary measure used was the patient's self-report questionnaire.
Result & Outcome :
Data collected was analyzed by SPSS. The findings were positive.
The seven participants had their mean WHO-5 score increased from 42.00 to 69.43. The minimum score increased from 8 to 40, while the maximum score increased from 62 to 80. The significant value is 0.018, which is < 0.05. A statistically significant effect of art engagement program in improving the general wellbeing and quality of life is demonstrated.
Regarding the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), a four-item scale, is used to assess the subjective mental well-being and subjective happiness. The full score is 28, while a higher score reflects higher subjective happiness level. An increase in mean of SHS in the seven participants is increased from 14.43 to 21.43. Both the minimum score and maximum score showed an increase, from 9 to 19 and from 22 to 25 respectively. The significant value is 0.026, which is < 0.05. This shows that the art engagement program has a statistically significant effect on participants.
In addition, among the seven participants, their mean MoCa-5 score increased from 12.6 to 17.0, with the maximum score increased from 16 to 24. 3 out of 7 participants had a positive increase in MoCA-5 score after intervention. 1 participant showed a decrease in score while the remaining 3 participants scored the same. The significant value is 0.705, which is > 0.05. The data indicated that the art engagement program can generally maintain and increase participants’ cognitive ability.
In patient’s self-report questionnaire in 6-point Likert scale, a mean score 5.6 out of 6 was shown after intervention. It reflected that the art engagement program had posed positive impacts on the psychological wellbeing of participants.
In summary, art engagement program by using "Texture Art" can create meaningful opportunities for expression and mood enhancement, ultimately enriching the quality of life for the long-tem hosptalized elderly.
