Art for a Lifetime

Abstract Art for a lifetime was a bi-weekly programming opportunity in a long-term care (LTC) community taught by students and faculty. We predicted that 1) Resident physical and mental abilities may influence art-making preferences and 2) residents would be concerned about their perceived lack of creativity. Findings revealed that residents with arthritis preferred working with larger forms (e.g., collage and sculpture) and residents with dementia preferred working with bright, colorful materials. Private one-on-one sessions were beneficial for increasing resident confidence and for working on individual projects. Programming also allowed for increased social opportunities among residents, offering occasions to reflect on life experiences. Overall, facilitators of art programming need to quickly adjust and adapt programming based on resident abilities and preferences. Expanding art programming to other long-term care facilities is important for providing increased opportunities for autonomy and decision making, areas that often become more limited when living in LTC.


OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES WITH CREATIVE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS Chair: Melinda Heinz
Arts programming can address chronic conditions prevalent among older adults. An overview of an implementation of the revised nationwide Opening Minds through Arts (OMA) program anchors the symposium. The paper reports an implementation by an area university and an eldercare facility to recruit and train student volunteers to collaborate with persons living with dementia, and create paintings for a public exhibition. The Arts for a Lifetime Program used bi-weekly student led programming in a long-term care community; the paper includes an overview of materials used throughout the program and reports resident preferences for materials. A report of results of an ethnographic investigation of the impact of creative aging fine arts programs on older adults adds information about how participation might influence the older person's self-esteem or perceptions of aging. The presentation about creation of music modules investigates the potential of music therapy for the promotion of healing for older adults managing pain. The final paper describes the methodology lessons learned from ARTmail, a community engaged study of the benefits of a structured participatory arts program for older adults with memory symptoms or cognitive impairment. Presentations in this symposium inform identification and development of opportunities to create and engage in meaningful experiences with older adults.

EVALUATION OF AN EARLY IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REVISED OPENING MINDS THROUGH ART PROGRAM
Christopher Kelly, Lyn Holley, and Stephen Fogle, University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska, United States The established international program Opening Minds through Art (OMA) has been revised; this presentation reports evaluation of an early implementation with Gerontology university students and Alzheimer's nursing home patients. Ten patients were paired with student volunteers meeting once a week for eight weeks to co-create original artwork in structured one-hour sessions. Before and after art creation each volunteer recorded personal feelings and their partner's mood and satisfaction. Findings indicate the revised program is satisfying for patients and improves their mood. Families seeing the art expressed surprise and appreciation regarding patient creative capacity. Analysis of data indicates positive outcomes for student volunteers and Alzheimer's patients. Student volunteer reflections link program participation with expanded knowledge, insight, and especially empathy for Alzheimer's patients and their families. The current study contributes to robust support in the literature for efficacy of arts programming for student learning and the morale of Alzheimer's patients and their families.

ART FOR A LIFETIME Alexis Schramel, Upper Iowa University, Monona, Iowa, United States
Art for a lifetime was a bi-weekly programming opportunity in a long-term care (LTC) community taught by students and faculty. We predicted that 1) Resident physical and mental abilities may influence art-making preferences and 2) residents would be concerned about their perceived lack of creativity. Findings revealed that residents with arthritis preferred working with larger forms (e.g., collage and sculpture) and residents with dementia preferred working with bright, colorful materials. Private one-on-one sessions were beneficial for increasing resident confidence and for working on individual projects. Programming also allowed for increased social opportunities among residents, offering occasions to reflect on life experiences. Overall, facilitators of art programming need to quickly adjust and adapt programming based on resident abilities and preferences. Expanding art programming to other long-term care facilities is important for providing increased opportunities for autonomy and decision making, areas that often become more limited when living in LTC.

IT'S LATE, BUT EVERYTHING COMES NEXT: CREATIVE AGING IN THE MODERN UNITED STATES Shayna Gleason, University of Massachusetts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
The emergence of "creative aging" programs, or fine arts programs exclusively for older adults, invites analysis of these new institutions and their influence on the social elements of the aging process. While past studies have demonstrated the cognitive and health-related benefits of arts participation in old age, little research has examined how participation might influence the older person's self-esteem or perceptions of aging. The present study draws on ethnographic methods including participant observation at eight creative aging programs, six semi-structured in-depth interviews with teaching artists leading these programs, and content analysis of paintings and vignettes made by participants. The results show the observed creative aging programs to have a unique, cyclical pattern of discourse characterized alternately by older adults' recurring self-deprecation and the affirming responses of instructors. This pattern of interaction renders such programs sites for the contestation of negative popular discourses around aging. Community engaged (CE) methods are used in health-related research, but few discuss methodological aspects among older adults. We describe the methodology and lessons learned from a CE study of whether ARTmail, a structured participatory arts program, benefited older adults aged 60+ with memory symptoms / cognitive impairment (MS/CI). Our study, conducted in 2015-2017 with support from the NEA, was a partnership between a non-profit organization in North Carolina that provides creative programming for older adults with varied abilities, and researchers in an area University. Older adults with MS/CI symptoms receiving care in area communities were recruited into either the art intervention or a control group, in collaboration with community staff. We reflect on the CE research process with a partnership among community organizations, researchers, care staff, and older adults. Asymmetries in priorities, resources, and decision-making power are described, and implications for the research process and findings are discussed.

MUSIC IS HEALING: DEVELOPING A MUSIC MODULE FOR A PAIN MANAGEMENT INTERVENTION FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN OLDER ADULTS
Mary Janevic, 1 Sheria Robinson-Lane, 2 Afton Hassett, 2 and Rebecca Courser, 1 1. University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States,

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Music has a known analgesic effect. Our multidisciplinary team is developing a music-focused module for Positive STEPS, a pain self-management intervention based on principles of positive psychology. The priority population is African American older adults with disabling chronic pain. Positive STEPS is delivered via website and phone calls from community health workers. To inform program design, we conducted two focus groups with older adults in Detroit (n=16; 100% female and African American; 75% age 70+). All participants said they would enjoy using music to cope with pain. Content analysis revealed the following themes regarding music for pain management: it elicits positive memories, reduces stress, motivates exercise and daily activities, and promotes relaxation. Participants offered ideas for music-focused activities, including learning about unfamiliar genres and using music for meditation/relaxation. Findings will inform the design of a new music module, to be pilot-tested for its effect on participant engagement and pain-related outcomes.

AAA RESEARCH METHODOLOGY II: INNOVATIVE OBSERVATIONAL AND INTERVENTION STUDIES Chair: Wenjun Li Discussant: Vivian Lou
Asians are the largest and the fastest growing segment of the world population, and the second largest immigrant population in the U.S. A high proportion of Asians live in developing countries or are immigrants to developed countries. Studies on age-related social and health issues of Asians have lagged. To advance research into aging among Asians living in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, sound methodologies can be adopted from those well-developed in other settings while novel methodologies are to be developed to meet the unique needs of Asian studies. This symposium brings together five abstracts that address a variety of innovative methodological issues in social and health studies among Asian older adults. The topics range from use of wearable devices to measure travel patterns, life space and physical activity in late-life Asian immigrants in the U.S.; use of Ecological Momentary Assessment method to examine influences of social contact satisfaction on neighborhood affect in Chinese in mainland China; use of multilingual age-friendly touch-screen device for cognitive intervention in Singapore; use of GIS to evaluate potential influences of accessibility to neighborhood living resources on attitudes towards aging among the oldest old in Shanghai; and use of a multi-phase complex mixed methods to evaluate a Chinese cancer screening program in Taiwan. Together, these studies showed that innovative methods can be adapted for context relevance and linguistic and cultural appropriateness, and successfully executed in studies on aging among Asians. This symposium is a collaborative effort of the Aging Among Asians Interest Group.