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Art intervention among Finnish older people and their caregivers: Experiences of art pedagogies
Author(s) -
Pohjola Hanna,
Vaajoki Anne,
Välimäki Tarja
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
health and social care in the community
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.984
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1365-2524
pISSN - 0966-0410
DOI - 10.1111/hsc.13003
Subject(s) - the arts , thematic analysis , context (archaeology) , psychological intervention , citizen journalism , pedagogy , sociology , health care , psychology , nursing , qualitative research , medical education , social science , medicine , visual arts , political science , art , geography , archaeology , law
The benefits of art therapies on older people's health have been well documented. However, studies into the perspectives of pedagogues on conducting arts interventions are scarce and no empirical evidence of the views of professional pedagogues views have been published to date. In this study, seven professional art pedagogues were interviewed using a thematic interview approach focusing on the pedagogues’ experiences of conducting arts interventions with a family caregiver and care recipient dyads. The interviews were analysed inductively using thematic content analysis. According to the analysis, three intersecting themes were found that both steered the pedagogical process and emerged from the process: holistic pedagogy, professional development and witnessing. The themes revealed a further understanding of approaches to the interviewees’ teaching and the value of participatory community arts in practice. The pedagogues’ experiences encourage art pedagogy to be acknowledged in a wider context within communities and healthcare environments. Further studies on interdisciplinary projects in collaboration with art pedagogues and healthcare professionals are encouraged.