The Effects of an Art Program on Older Adults' Cognition and Satisfaction with Life.

This study aimed to develop an art program to investigate the impact on older adults’ cognition and satisfaction with life. This study adopted the participatory case study approach and developed an eight-week art program (visual art - nostalgic topic, combination of visual art and music - linking color and music topic). The program was conducted at a community care station in Xinzhuang District, New Taipei. A total of 21 participants were recruited, 15 (aged 50–90) of whom participated in the entire eight-week program. A pretest and posttest were used to understand the program’s impact on participant cognition (MoCA) and satisfaction with life (SWLS). The results show that the participants significantly improved cognition after the art program. Their general cognition ( p = 0.028) increased from 25.07 (3.43) to 27.47 (2.67); delayed recall ( p = 0.005) increased from 2.87 (1.77) to 3.93 (1.53); and orientation ( p = 0.028), improved from 5.53 (0.64) to 5.93 (0.26). There was no significant difference in the participants’ satisfaction with life scores, but there was a certain degree of increase from 27.93 (5.44) to 29.67 (4.42). The programs designed for this study can be applied to the learning programs of older adults to enhance their physical and mental health and quality of life. This study provides empirical evidence and practical experience for the intervention of art programs in older adults’ later life.