Comparative study on elderly and disabled subjects with various degrees of dementia

• Published in: Bulletin de la Société des sciences médicales du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Vol. Spec No 1; no. 1; p. 205
• Main Author: Ciccarello, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: French
• Published: Luxembourg 2010
• Subjects: Aged; Alzheimer Disease - psychology; Alzheimer Disease - therapy; Appetite; Art Therapy; Disabled Persons - psychology; Fatigue; Humans; Orientation; Self Concept; Social Behavior; Vertigo
• ISSN: 0037-9247

This study aims at showing the positive effects of arts therapies in individual and group sessions, with an aging, valid or dependent population, presenting symptoms of dementia or not. The improvement of cognition (including memory), well-being, as well as of certain medical problems (pain, tension...) was underlined in several studies on arts therapies, including especially the use of music therapeutic techniques. Indeed, music stimulates the emotional memory, causing the emergence of ancient memories, thus restoring narcissism. The well-being of participants is increased. Our population consists of elderly people, most of them suffering from dementia. They come to the workshops by themselves or led by their families. Music but also pictorial arts are used as a therapeutic mediation for one session per week during the time of hospitalization. This period varies depending on the condition of the subject. The scales used in T1 and T2 with patients suffering from dementia are the Echelle d'appréciation clinique en gériatrie by Bouvard & Cottraux and the Fragebogen zur Beurteilung der Behandlung durch den Therapeuten (FBB-T) by Mattejat and Remschmidt. Regarding the criteria for external validation, a semi-structured interview is proposed to the nurses in T2. The scales used with valid people are the Index of Well-being by Campbell et al, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) by Zigmond and Snaith, the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES), validated by Vallières and Vallerand in 1990, and the Stressverarbeitungsfragebogen (SVF 78) by Janke et al. CDC: There was a positive effect for most seniors who attended the sessions: an increased well-being and a temporary appropriation of memories. However, given the small size and the heterogeneity of samples, the irregularity of attendance, the results cannot be generalized. More regular sessions of arts therapies would be favorable for a consolidation of results.