Bringing Art to Life: Social and Activity Engagement through Art in Persons Living with Dementia

ABSTRACT

Objectives

The Bringing Art to Life (BATL) program was created as an art therapy intervention to increase social engagement, intergenerational engagement, and creative expression among persons living with dementia (PWD) in an adult day service. This is an evaluation of BATL program efficacy.

Methods

A modified behavioral observation tool was used to quantify meaningful engagements as recorded in ethnographic field notes and test the hypotheses that: 1) engagements increase across art therapy sessions, and 2) engagements were more social than activity or art related.

Results

The increase in engagement across session was not significant. However, social engagements (M = 9.61, SD 4.6) were more prevalent than art engagements (M = 5.23, SD = 3.1) in each session (t(99) = 9.52,). A thematic analysis of social interactions recorded in the ethnographic field notes revealed themes related to reminiscence.

Conclusions

The quantitative and qualitative data supported the BATL program as effective in engaging participants in social interaction and art activities. Specifically, quantitative data showed participants were engaged in conversations around reminiscence and discussion of creative expression with students.

Clinical Implications

Intergenerational social interaction between PWD and college students is a critical and meaningful part of the BATL program, and the intervention created a safe space with focused activity through engagement with art, and this facilitated PWD in self-expression, including humor, advice, and legacy.

KEYWORDS:

• Art therapy
• reminiscence
• dementia
• intergenerational intervention
• ethnographic

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, The Alabama Dementia Initiative, and individual donors.

Clinical Implications

• The major clinical implication of this study is the BATL program is successful at creating social and activity engagement through intergenerational interaction, reminiscence, and the creation of art that support the PWD.

• Intergenerational social engagement between PWD and college students is a crucial and meaningful part of the BATL program, as this service learning and art therapy intervention created a safe space for PWD to express themselves, their humor, their advice, and their legacy.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the The Alabama Dementia Initiative; The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.