Isabella Goldie, Head of Scotland – Mental Health Foundation and Amy Woodhouse Project Manager/Researcher. Presentation given at Alzheimer Scotland Conference: Creativity and dementia - policy and practice; June 2012, Glasgow

2. An Evidence Review of the
Impact of Participatory Arts
on Older People
Isabella Goldie Amy Woodhouse
Head of Scotland – MHF Project Manager/Researcher

3. • MHF have a long standing interest in the potential of the arts to
improve mental health.
• Previous programmes of work includes: Art Therapies research
(2003); Participatory Arts evaluation (2007); Scottish Mental Health
Arts and Film Festival (2007 - )
• In 2011 MHF were commissioned by the Baring Foundation to
undertake a review of Participatory Arts to better understand the
impact on older people
• Baring Foundation have a long standing interest in the potential of
the arts and have focused more recently on older people including
the production of Ageing Artfully Report which mapped out
Participatory Arts activity across the UK and made
recommendations for strengthening this work.
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5. what we wanted to achieve …
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6. Study Aims
• To capture the growing evidence base and raise
awareness of the impacts of participatory arts on health
and well being of older people
• To provide evidence to funders, commissioners and
service providers about the benefits
• To support arts organisations to their improve practice

7. we asked …
‘in what ways does participating in art
impact on the wellbeing of older
people and the ways in which older
people are perceived in their
communities, and by society in
general?’
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8. how we went about it …
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9. Inclusion criteria
* Participatory art:
professional artists collaborate with people to create
artistic works that express participant’s experiences,
outlook and community context
*Adults over 60 years of age
*Peer reviewed and grey literature in
English within last ten years
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10. Excluded literature
* Art therapies
* Audience participation
* Listening to music / background music
* Dance based exercise for older adults
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11. Step-wise approach
Step 1 Search for high quality reviews (id gaps)
Step 2 Search for primary studies (id gaps)
Step 3 Search for other evidence (grey
literature)
Step 4 Map the evidence into
categories and select best
quality and most recent
studies for inclusion.
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12. what we found….
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13. Overview of included studies
31 relevant studies
(24 peer reviewed)
7 Music, 7 singing Most (n=29) about
14 studies include
5 drama, 5 visual, individual mental
community impact
4 dance, 1 festivals and physical
Some explore arts
1 storytelling,1 mixed impacts
mediating impact
6 dementia studies

14. Dementia Studies
• Two music programmes (Martin 2004,
Sixsmith 2007)
• Two visual arts programmes
(Brownell 2008, Kinney 2005)
• One drama programme (Lapp 2003)
• One storytelling programme (Phillips
2010)
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15. Impact of Participatory Arts
Individual
Community
Societal

16. Impact - individual level
“Drum circles are a bonding experience. It gets you in
your very soul. It is a really spiritual experience. It brings
you up and out of yourself like a bird or eagle soaring
above.” (participant, Martin 2004)
– Enhanced communication opportunities
– Equality amongst participants regardless of degree of
impairment
– Improved mood and self esteem, reduced anxiety
– Memory stimulation
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17. Impact – community level
“I think we have better contact now after the programme.
We wink to each other and sing even more and give
signs to each other” (caregiver, Lepp 2003)
– Meaningful social contact between participants and
with family, carers and staff
– Improved carer relationships for those with dementia
– Addresses dementia discrimination by raising
awareness and expectations and reduces
stigmatising attitudes

18. Impact - societal level
• Contributes towards challenging external stigma towards
ageing and dementia
• Challenges self stigma by providing opportunities to
create something of worth
• Brings people together on an equal footing

19. Key issues
We need to support engagement by:
• actively facilitating initial and sustained
engagement
• tailoring activities to abilities (but not accepting
that dementia limits creativity)
• Pleasure and fulfilment in the moment as an
impact is equally important as a quality of life
measure as impact after the moment
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20. what does this mean? ….
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21. Implications for health and social care
providers
• Participative arts should be readily available for
all those with dementia, including those with
severe levels of impairment
• Nursing and care home staff would benefit from
training to help them deliver arts activities for
people with dementia

22. Implications for participatory arts
organisations
• Actively facilitate engagement of people
with dementia
• Build in flexible approaches
• Challenge low expectations and an over-
emphasis on the limitations of dementia
regarding ability to participate and create
• Build links with local organisations and
networks representing and supporting
people with dementia

23. Implications for funders and
commissioners
• Proactivity in required to include people
with dementia in arts based funding
programmes
• Ensure arts projects have the capacity to
evaluate, learn and improve – don’t just
fund the art, fund the longer-term
development of projects
• Support sustainability

24. Further research
• Weak evidence base – reflective of lack of investment in
older people in general?
• If participatory art for people with dementia is to be
credible as an approach we need to know more about
what works:
– Larger samples – joint/cross project evaluations?
– More detail on role of professional artists
– Where, how, access strategies, target groups, funding
sources, sustainability, partnership with/support from
other professionals / organisations
– Importance of artistic output versus process

25. Further information
Report downloadable from:
www.mentalhealth.org.uk
Contact:
Isabella Goldie / Amy Woodhouse
igoldie@mhf.org.uk / awoodhouse@mhf.org.uk
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26. ~A very special thanks to
Baring Foundation who
supported this review

27. Isabella Goldie & Amy Woodhouse
Mental Health Foundation