‘A respite thing’: A qualitative study of a creative arts leisure programme for family caregivers of people with dementia

Abstract

This study explored the meanings of participating in a 5-week creative arts leisure programme designed for family caregivers of people with dementia, using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Eight carers attended and four who met the eligibility criteria agreed to be interviewed. Participants experienced the arts group as providing a sense of freedom and respite, strengthening identity through promoting achievement, offering social support through a collective focus on art- and craft-making and increasing resilience for coping with caring. Some found the 5-week programme too short. Benefits were linked to the security of knowing that loved ones with dementia were close by, being well cared for. Further research is needed into the long-term benefits of creative arts groups for promoting carer well-being.

“Like a drawing of breath”: leisure-based art-making as a source of respite and identity among older women caring for loved ones with dementia

“…The themes broadly resonated with those inferred in an intervention study of carers taking part in a brief 5-week arts leisure programme, incorporated as part of their ongoing weekly support meetings (Pienaar & Reynolds, 2015). The participants in the previous intervention study were either new to art-and craft-making or had not engaged in such activities for many years.…”

“…However, the meanings of such activities for caregivers have not been explored in detail. One study has delved into the experiences of care-givers of people with dementia who attended a 5-week creative arts intervention (Pienaar & Reynolds, 2015). This achieved positive outcomes, with participants valuing temporary respite and freedom from caring, and enhanced selfesteem, social support and resilience.…”

Illness representation and sense of coherence in dementia caregiving

“…Interventions for promoting dementia caregivers’ mental health at present include mainly components of problem solving skills training, and stress management (Schulz et al, 2002; Vernooij-Dassen et al, 2011). Our findings suggest that treatment strategies focussing on enhancing SOC, personal strengths and promoting positive illness appraisals of dementia and dementia caregiving (Pinenaar and Reynolds, 2015) will assist carers in managing the caregiving environment, helping them to cope better with the stressors of the caring role.…”

“…Despite the self-regulation model being successful in understanding differences in disease outcomes not accounted for by symptom severity, in a wide range of physical (Houldin et al, 1996; Millar et al, 2005) and mental health problems (Lobban et al, 2003), illness representations in dementia caregiving have rarely been examined. Such investigations are critical for understanding the stigma associated with dementia and may provide useful information for caregiving intervention research (Pinenaar and Reynolds, 2015) and for promoting positive psychological resources.…”

Looking Beyond Traditional Bibliotherapy: A New View

“…The selection of studies above, using IPA to research a spectrum of experiences ranging from traditional therapies to more contemporary applications, shows the potential for researchers to use IPA to evaluate innovative therapeutic programs (Dean et al, 2006;Gill, 2015;Laverty, 2003;Sandelowski, 2006), including a study evaluating an arts-based wellbeing program (Pienaar & Reynolds, 2015). The discussion of IPA methodology below offers strong evidence that it is an appropriate methodology to explore and answer this study's research question.…”