On September 14, 2012, the Steering Committee on Research Gaps and Opportunities for Exploring the Relationship of  the Arts to Health and Well-Being in Older Adults will hold a workshop to identify research gaps and opportunities for exploring the relationship of arts participation and creativity to physical health and psychological well-being in older adults.  It will provide a critique of the field, including challenges in undertaking research capacity-building; and it will offer guidance for the design of future studies and research funding opportunities.

The presentations and discussions at the workshop will cover the current state of evidence and potential research questions for one or more of the following topics: 

• The relationship of arts programs and  interventions to cognitive, sensory,  and motor skills function in older adults, and the underlying brain processes;
• The relationship of aesthetics and design factors to health and quality-of-life-related outcomes of older adults in long-term care and assisted living facilities;
•  Cost-benefit analyses associated with the inclusion of arts programs and interventions in healthcare delivery for older adults;
•  Comparative benefits or weaknesses of arts therapies over other behavioral and/or pharmacological interventions for older adults experiencing declines in cognitive, sensory, and/or motor ability; and
•  The relationship of art-making and creativity to physical health and psychological well-being of older adults.

The workshop will be held in Room 100 at the National Academy of Sciences building in Washington, DC from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (directions, Google Maps)

This workshop is funded by  of a consortium of the National Endowment for the Arts and three units within the National Institutes of Health:  the National Institute on Aging, the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, and the National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine.

 Register for this event soon as space will be limited.

More information about the project.