Culture and Health

Participatory visual arts activities for people with dementia: a review.

A systematic review was conducted to examine the effects of interventions using participatory visual arts activities in dementia research. Four databases were consulted, and 20 papers were included in the review. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) and Downs and Black's checklist. The results showed that the use of participatory visual arts has positive effects on the cognition and social and psychological functioning of people with dementia. However, due to the diversity of studies, there was no consistent evidence of an overall positive effect. The review contributes to previous studies focusing on interventions involving visual art activities by persons with dementia. It is suggested that future participatory visual arts interventions for persons with dementia should be based on the criteria associated with positive outcomes and should provide a more detailed description of the art methods and interventions used.