Feasibility and Preliminary Effects of a Drawing-based Intervention on Cognition and Wellbeing of Community-Dwelling Adults at Risk for ADRD
Northeastern University
Summary
The present study investigates the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a novel visual arts-based intervention in an older adult population. In a randomized controlled design, two arts-based interventions will be evaluated with a group of 50 participants.
Description
A two-arm randomized controlled study will be conducted to obtain within-group ratings of feasibility and acceptability, as well as between-group differences in drawing skills after training. In the drawing intervention, participants will learn and train drawing skills through exercises that target attention, perception, and visuospatial reasoning. In the active control condition, participants will navigate virtual art galleries. Both interventions will be completed remotely and at home. Participants will complete in-lab assessment sessions before and after the training. Each intervention con…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 55–85 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * 55-85 years of age * Able to understand and speak English and follow study procedures * Does not have a psychological or neurological condition that would prevent from being able to give consent to participate * Less than 2 years of formal visual arts training Exclusion Criteria: * Formal diagnosis of dementia or other neurological disease, including Mild Cognitive Impairment * A final score below 17 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment - Blind (phone) version * Abnormal visual acuity prohibitive of tablet-based training * Physical handicap (motor or perceptual) that w…
Interventions
- BehavioralTraining in observational drawing
* 6 weeks of online gallery browsing based on different topics * Daily practice drawing from observation with training adding up to 1 hour a week * Documenting progress and reflection writing
- BehavioralArts engagement through digital galleries
* 6 weeks of online gallery browsing based on different topics * 2 hours of weekly activities consist of reading and navigating technology * Reflection writing
Location
- Northeastern UniversityBoston, Massachusetts