The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a group art therapy program by the medium of Korean painting on the cognitive function, depression, anxiety and activities of daily living of elderly people with dementia.
The subjects in this st...
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a group art therapy program by the medium of Korean painting on the cognitive function, depression, anxiety and activities of daily living of elderly people with dementia.
The subjects in this study were 12 elderly people who were selected from among male and female elderly users of a senior welfare center in a district, Busan, who were at the ages of 65 and up and were diagnosed with third-grade dementia. Whether the senior citizens wanted to participate in a group art therapy program that used a medium of Korean painting was asked, and then 12 elderly people who expressed their intention to do that were selected. After an experimental group and a control group were organized with six senior citizens each, a group art therapy program was provided by using the medium of Korean painting in 16 sessions, 60 minutes each. The experimental group participated in the program, and no action was taken to the control group during the period.
To determine the effect of the program, pretest and posttest were conducted to assess the cognitive function, depression, anxiety and activities of daily living of the experimental and control groups, and a statistical package SPSS WIN 20.0 was employed to acquire statistical data on mean and standard deviation for each scale. To see whether there would be any differences between the two groups, Wilcoxon test was carried out, which was one of nonparametric methods.
The findings of the study were as follows:
First, the experimental group that participated in the group art therapy program by using the medium of Korean painting showed more improvement in cognitive function than the control group that didn't.
Second, the experimental group that participated in the group art therapy program by using the medium of Korean painting showed more decrease in depression than the control group that didn't.
Third, the experimental group that participated in the group art therapy program by using the medium of Korean painting showed more decrease in anxiety than the control group that didn't.
Fourth, the experimental group that participated in the group art therapy program by using the medium of Korean painting made better progress in activities of daily living than the control group that didn't.
The findings of the study illustrated that the program was one of effective programs to boost the cognitive function and activities of daily living of demented elderly people and to relieve their depression and anxiety. When the program that was designed in consideration of demented elderly people's waning cognitive function, poor activities of daily living, strong depression and severe anxiety and uses the medium of Korean painting is provided for senior citizens with dementia, they will be able to maintain or improve their cognitive, physical and mental function to make the most out of their remaining abilities in daily life.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a group art therapy program by the medium of Korean painting on the cognitive function, depression, anxiety and activities of daily living of elderly people with dementia.
The subjects in this study were 12 elderly people who were selected from among male and female elderly users of a senior welfare center in a district, Busan, who were at the ages of 65 and up and were diagnosed with third-grade dementia. Whether the senior citizens wanted to participate in a group art therapy program that used a medium of Korean painting was asked, and then 12 elderly people who expressed their intention to do that were selected. After an experimental group and a control group were organized with six senior citizens each, a group art therapy program was provided by using the medium of Korean painting in 16 sessions, 60 minutes each. The experimental group participated in the program, and no action was taken to the control group during the period.
To determine the effect of the program, pretest and posttest were conducted to assess the cognitive function, depression, anxiety and activities of daily living of the experimental and control groups, and a statistical package SPSS WIN 20.0 was employed to acquire statistical data on mean and standard deviation for each scale. To see whether there would be any differences between the two groups, Wilcoxon test was carried out, which was one of nonparametric methods.
The findings of the study were as follows:
First, the experimental group that participated in the group art therapy program by using the medium of Korean painting showed more improvement in cognitive function than the control group that didn't.
Second, the experimental group that participated in the group art therapy program by using the medium of Korean painting showed more decrease in depression than the control group that didn't.
Third, the experimental group that participated in the group art therapy program by using the medium of Korean painting showed more decrease in anxiety than the control group that didn't.
Fourth, the experimental group that participated in the group art therapy program by using the medium of Korean painting made better progress in activities of daily living than the control group that didn't.
The findings of the study illustrated that the program was one of effective programs to boost the cognitive function and activities of daily living of demented elderly people and to relieve their depression and anxiety. When the program that was designed in consideration of demented elderly people's waning cognitive function, poor activities of daily living, strong depression and severe anxiety and uses the medium of Korean painting is provided for senior citizens with dementia, they will be able to maintain or improve their cognitive, physical and mental function to make the most out of their remaining abilities in daily life.