Nos publications

New Insights in the Health Benefits of Art

Beauchet, O., Gros, A., Ho, A. H. Y., Koebner, I

Excerpt : In 2019, the World Health Organization demonstrated with a scoping review that art-based activities, regardless of their characteristics, have promising health benefits. More specifically, practicing art-based activities was demonstrated to contribute to core determinants of health, to play a key role in health promotion and prevention—especially with regard to the onset of mental illness and age-related physical decline—and to assist in acute and end-of-life care.

Productive art engagement in a hybrid format: effects on emotions of older adults during COVID-19 pandemic

Payne M, Galery K, Plonka A, Lemaire J, Derreumaux A, Fabre R, Mouton A, Sacco G, Guerin O, Manera V, Robert P, Beauchet O, Gros A.

Introduction: Previous studies have shown benefits of productive art-activity on frail older adults’ mental and physical health. In this study, we investigated the effects of art-producing activities in a hybrid format (in-person and online) in a context of lockdown compared with previous studies taking place in museums and their effects on wellbeing, quality of life, physical frailty, and apathy in older adults.

Museum-based art activities to stay young at heart? Results of a randomized controlled trial

Cami M, Planta O, Matskiv J, Plonka A, Gros A, Beauchet O.

Background: Health benefits have been reported with art activities. Heart rate is a biomarker of health state. The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to compare the changes in heart rate over a 3 month-period in older adults participating in art-based activities at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA, Quebec, Canada) and in their control counterparts.

Effects of participatory ‘A’rt-Based Activity On ‘Health’ of Older Community-Dwellers: results from a randomized control trial of the Singapore A-Health Intervention

Ho AHY, Ma SHX, Tan MKB, Bajpai R, Goh SSN, Yeo G, Teng A, Yang Y, Galéry K, Beauchet O.

Introduction: The practice of participatory art has been found to support the promotion, prevention, and management of health across the lifespan. However, clinical trials investigating the benefits of creative activities curated with and conducted in museums among older adults in East Asia remains limited.

A qualitative examination on the implementation of participatory “A”rt-based activity on “Health” of older community-dwellers: what worked for the Singapore A-Health Intervention?

Ma SHX, Tan MKB, Goh SSN, Yeo G, Teng A, Yang Y, Galéry K, Beauchet O, Ho AHY.

Introduction: Art and museum-based interventions are gaining increasing recognition for their potential as low-risk activities for older adults, offering numerous physical, cognitive, and emotional benefits. However, there remains a dearth of knowledge regarding the science of implementation as well as the factors and processes that contribute to their effectiveness from the perspectives of intervention participants.

Effects of museum-based art activities on older community dwellers’ physical activity: the A-health randomized controlled trial results

Planta O, Cami M, Matskiv J, Plonka A, Gros A, Beauchet O.

Aim : Because museum-based art activities practiced in a group setting improve the physical health of older adults, we suggest that they may also improve their physical activity through an increase in daily step count.

Productive arts engagement at the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum and its health effects on the older Japanese population: results of a randomized controlled trial

Hayashi Y, Matskiv J, Galery K, Beauchet O.

Background: This randomized controlled trial aims to compare changes in mental and physical health in older Japanese community-dwellers who participated in a productive art-based activity at the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum (intervention group) and in their counterparts, who did not participate in the intervention (control group).

Benefits of a 3-month cycle of weekly virtual museum tours in community dwelling older adults: Results of a randomized controlled trial

Beauchet O, Matskiv J, Galery K, Goossens L, Lafontaine C, Sawchuk K.

Background: Museums can be instrumental in fostering social inclusion and may improve the overall health of the older population. Over the course of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic, many older adults suffered as a result of confinement measures, which may have accelerated the processes that lead to physical frailty and increased mental health risks. This study aims to examine whether a 3-month cycle of weekly virtual tours of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) may have improved feelings of social inclusion, wellbeing and quality of life, …

Improving the mental and physical health of older community-dwellers with a museum participatory art-based activity: results of a multicentre randomized controlled trial

Beauchet O, Cooper-Brown LA, Hayashi Y, Deveault M, Launay CP.

Background: The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to examine the mental and physical effects of a participatory art-based activity carried out at museums in older community-dwellers.

Health benefits of “Thursdays at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts”: Results of a randomized clinical trial

Beauchet O, Cooper-Brown LA, Hayashi Y, Deveault M, Ho AHY, Launay CP.

This study aims to examine and compare changes in frailty status, well-being and quality of life in community-dwelling older adults living in Montreal (Quebec, Canada) participating in a 3-month session of weekly “Thursdays at the Museum” and in their control counterparts who did not participate in art-based activities.

Accessible Virtual Arts Recreation for Wellbeing Promotion in Long-Term Care Residents

Murphy KJ, Swaminathan S, Howard E, Altschuler A, Rogan J, Beauchet O, Dupuis K, Galea LAM, Hogan D, Lingum N, Rowe G, Tsotsos L, Szczepura A, Wittich W, Xie F, Hasher L.

The efficacy of a technology-driven visual arts recreation activity, delivered virtually, was evaluated for its potential to achieve positive impacts, similar to traditional arts-interventions, on wellbeing in long-term care residents. Thirty-one residents (average age 86.8 years; SD = 9.4) engaged with the arts-intervention for 30-minutes, twice weekly, for 6 weeks with either a partner or as part of a group. Wellbeing indicators included self-reported psychological and health-related wellness, and attention capacity…

Long-term effects of the Montreal museum of fine arts participatory activities on frailty in older community dwellers: results of the A-Health study

Beauchet O, Bastien T, Ho AHY, Vilcocq C, Galery K, Launay CP

Purpose: The study aims (1) to examine the long-term effects (i.e., at 12 months) of the Montreal museum of fine arts (MMFA) participatory art-based activities on frailty in a subset of participants of the Art and Health (A-Health) study and (2) to compare these long-term effects with short-term effects (i.e., at 3 months).

Effects of participatory art-based painting workshops in geriatric inpatients: results of a non-randomized open label trial

Beauchet O, Lafleur L, Remondière S, Galery K, Vilcocq C, Launay CP.

Background: Art-based activities like painting workshops demonstrated health benefits in older individuals living in home care facilities. Few studies examined the effects of painting workshops in geriatric inpatients.

Effects of “Thursdays at the Museum” at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on the mental and physical health of older community dwellers: the art-health randomized clinical trial protocol

Beauchet O, Cooper-Brown L, Hayashi Y, Galery K, Vilcocq C, Bastien T.

Background: Recently, we demonstrated that the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ (MMFA) participatory art-based activity, known as “Thursdays at the Museum,” improved the well-being, quality of life, and physical health (i.e., frailty) of older community dwellers by using a pre-post intervention, single arm, prospective and longitudinal experimental design. The present randomized clinical trial (RCT), known as the Art-Health RCT (A-Health RCT), aims to compare changes in well-being, quality of life, frailty, and physiological measures in older community dwellers who participate in “Thursdays at the Museum” (intervention group) and in their counterparts who do not participate in this art-based activity (control group).

Participatory art-based activity, community-dwelling older adults and changes in health condition: Results from a pre-post intervention, single-arm, prospective and longitudinal study

Beauchet O, Bastien T, Mittelman M, Hayashi Y, Hau Yan Ho A.

Background: Participatory art-based activities enhance the well-being and quality of life of patients. Few studies have examined the effects of these activities in community-dwelling older adults. This study aims to examine changes in well-being, quality of life and frailty associated with a weekly art-based activity, known as “Thursday at the Museum”, performed at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) in community-dwelling older adults.