PARTICIPATORY ARTS IN THE HOME TO SUPPORT WELLNESS IN DEMENTIA CAREGIVER AND CARE RECIPIENT DYADS

摘要

There is growing evidence that participatory art has a positive role in promoting the health and wellness of older people with a range of conditions, including people with dementia and caregivers. This pilot project trialled an eight week, two hours per week, participatory arts program (e.g. visual arts including mixed media, painting and clay) delivered in participants’ homes by one of four professional artists (n = 6 caregiver and care recipient dyads). The evaluation employed mixed methods.Caregiver interviews found that caregivers were overwhelmingly surprised by their own creative output and that of their care recipient. They indicated the program provided time away from the caring role, describing feeling ‘relaxed’ and ‘less stressed’. The artists’ visits provided an opportunity for caregivers to learn new skills, enjoy much-appreciated social interaction and reduce ‘monotony’. Several caregivers learned novel ways of engaging with their care recipient from artist-care recipient interactions. Some dyads were able to use their creative output for inter-generational family engagement; and five dyads expressed an interest in pursuing art in some form post-program. Improvement in scores on the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale and the Zarit Burden Interview were also found for some carers.This pilot suggests that participatory arts delivered by professional artists in the home can equip family caregivers with new skills in shared creative activities that bring joy and emotional interaction and may counteract agitation and stasis. The model of program delivery can be readily scaled up and tested in a larger study.