The combination of occupational art therapy improves the quality of life for elderly in nursing homes

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to investigate the effect of the combination between occupational therapy and art therapy on quality of life (QoL) among the elderly in nursing homes.
METHODS: This study was conducted between January and June 2022. A quasi-experimental pre- and post-test research design with a control group was conducted among 60 elderly in nursing homes located in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. The study participants were divided into two groups, which consisted of 30 participants in the control group and 30 participants in the intervention group. A purposive sampling technique was used to enroll the study participants. Data were collected using the validated Indonesian version of the Older People’s Quality of Life Questionnaire (OPQOL-brief), which consists of 13 questions. The paired t-test was used to investigate the difference in the OPQOL-brief score before and after the occupational art therapy intervention had been given for each group, while the unpaired t-test was used to determine the differences in the OPQOL-brief score between the intervention group and the control group.
RESULTS: The majority of the participants were between the ages of 61 and 65 years (43%), mostly women (78%), widow/widower (68%), and had primary school education (33%). Occupational art therapy effectively improves the QoL of the elderly living in nursing homes (p=0.001).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Occupational art therapy significantly improves the QoL of the elderly and can be recommended as an alternative therapy for the elderly who live in health-care services, nursing homes, and in the community.