Validating the Centre of Excellence on Longevity Self-AdMinistered (CESAM) Questionnaire: An Online Self-Reported Tool for Frailty Assessment of Older Adults

Physician-prescribed museum visit benefits on mental health: results of an experimental study

Background

Art and cultural activities have been associated with health benefits. The effects of a physician-prescribed museum visit on the mental health of patients remain to unclear. This study aims to examine the effects of a single visit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA, Montreal, Quebec, Canada), prescribed by a physician, on the wellbeing and quality of life of patients living in Montreal (Quebec, Canada).

Methods

The study used a pre-post intervention, non-randomized single-arm, experimental design with prospective data collection. A total of 86 patients (mean age 51.5 ± 17.6, 82.6% female) completed the study. The intervention consisted in a single MMFA visit prescribed by a primary or secondary care physician. Well-being and quality of life were assessed before and after the MMFA visit using validated self-questionnaires completed on a web-based platform including the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) and the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D), respectively. Participants' baseline characteristics were also recorded.

Results

There was a significant improvement of both WEMWBS (≤0.001) and EQ-5D (p ≤ 0.002) scores between after and before the MMFA visit. The increase in WEMWBS score was positively associated with self-reported unhappiness (coefficient of regression beta (ß) = 15.15 with 95% confident interval (CI) = [4.30,25.99] and p = 0.007) and the presence an acute disease (ß = 10.76 with 95% CI = [3.15,18.37] and p = 0.006).

Interpretation

A physician-prescribed visit to the MMFA was associated with improved mental health. These results suggest that museums could play a valuable role as partners in care pathways for patients in primary and secondary healthcare settings.

Clinical trial registration

https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05445453, identifier NCT05445453.

Virtual geriatric and frailty assessment for older adults with cancer

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Since SARS-CoV2 pandemic, many specialties have introduced virtual assessments within clinical practice. Conducting an online geriatric assessment, or relying on self-reported questionnaires, may be more challenging than a conventional medical appointment. This review aims to discuss the state of research on virtual assessment and self-reported questionnaires in the general geriatric population and specifically in Oncology.

RECENT FINDINGS

Virtual assessment of older adults has been the focus of two separate position papers. Aside from videoconferences or phone appointments, self-reported questionnaires have emerged in recent years as reliable tools to screen for frailty and triage patients who would benefit from a comprehensive in-person assessment, with adequate correlation with in-person tests, good acceptance by the respondents and being well received by healthcare providers. Although some have been tried in geriatric oncology, many still lack validation, and their widespread use may be limited by digital literacy, cognitive impairment, and social supports.

SUMMARY

The development, validation and adoption of self-reported questionnaires and virtual assessment in the care of older adults with cancer may overcome the staffing limitations and time constrains that frequently hampers the widespread evaluation of this population to improve their care.

Museum-based art activities to stay young at heart? Results of a randomized controlled trial

Background

Health benefits have been reported with art activities. Heart rate is a biomarker of health state. The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to compare the changes in heart rate over a 3 month-period in older adults participating in art-based activities at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA, Quebec, Canada) and in their control counterparts.

Methods/design

Participants (mean age 71.0 ± 5.1; 84.9% female) were a subset of older community dwellers recruited in a RCT in two parallel groups (n = 28 in the intervention group and n = 25 in the control group) who had their heart rate recorded. They attended weekly participatory MMFA-based art activities over a 3-month period. Heart rate was collected via the smart watch Fitbit Alta HR at baseline (M0) and at 3 months (M3). The outcomes were mean heart rate per hour for the full day, including active and inactive hours.

Results

Heart rate for full day (p = 0.018) and active hours (p = 0.028) were slower in the intervention group compared to the control group. Decrease in mean heart rate for full day between M0 and M3 in the intervention group was higher than in the control group (p = 0.030). The linear regression showed that MMFA-based art activities decreased full day heart rate (Coefficient of regression Beta = -6.2 with p = 0.010).

Conclusion

MMFA-based art activities significantly decreased full day heart rate, suggesting a health benefit in older community dwellers who participated in the RCT.Clinical trial registration: NCT03679715.

Productive arts engagement at the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum and its health effects on the older Japanese population: results of a randomized controlled trial

Background

This randomized controlled trial aims to compare changes in mental and physical health in older Japanese community-dwellers who participated in a productive art-based activity at the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum (intervention group) and in their counterparts, who did not participate in the intervention (control group).

Methods

A total of 73 older community-dwellers living in Tokyo participated in a single-blind RCT in two parallel groups (intervention group versus control group). The intervention was 2 h of productive art-based activities per week. The weekly sessions were carried out at the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum over a 12-week period. The control group did not participate in any productive art-based activity over the study period. Well-being, quality of life and frailty were assessed before the first, and after the last, art-based activity. These outcomes were assessed with the same schedule in both groups.

Results

The intervention group saw a significant improvement in their quality of life (p < 0.044) and mixed results on their physical health (i.e., decreased frailty status) when compared to the control group. The comparison of changes in frailty scores between M0 and M3 showed improvement in the intervention group (p = 0.014), but when adjusted for baseline characteristics by linear regressions, revealed only a trend (p = 0.070). No conclusive effect was shown with well-being.

Interpretation

This RCT showed mixed health effects of productive art engagement in older Japanese community-dwellers in Tokyo. Benefits were reported for quality of life and mixed effects were observed for frailty, while no significant effect was found for well-being.Clinical Trial Registration: Ethic committee of Shobi University, Tokyo (Japan), ref. A-2021-1; Clinical Trial Number NCT03679715.

The Co-Design/Co-Development and Evaluation of an Online Frailty Check Application for Older Adults: Participatory Action Research with Older Adults

Frailty is an age-related condition characterized by a decline in physical capacity with an increased vulnerability to stressors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was considerable progression in frailty in older adults. Therefore, an online frailty check (FC) is required for continuous screening, especially acceptable to older adults. We aimed to co-design/co-develop an online FC application with FC supporters who were facilitators in a pre-existing onsite FC program in the community. It consisted of a self-assessment of sarcopenia and an 11-item questionnaire assessing dietary, physical, and social behaviors. Opinions obtained from FC supporters (median 74.0 years) were categorized and implemented. The usability was assessed using the system usability scale (SUS). For both FC supporters and participants (n = 43), the mean score was 70.2 ± 10.3 points, which implied a "marginally high" acceptability and a "good" adjective range. Multiple regression analysis showed that the SUS score was significantly correlated with onsite-online reliability, even after adjusting for age, sex, education level, and ICT proficiency (b = 0.400, 95% CI: 0.243-1.951, p = 0.013). We also validated the online FC score, which showed a significant association between onsite and online FC scores (R = 0.670, p = 0.001). In conclusion, the online FC application is an acceptable and reliable tool to check frailty for community-dwelling older adults.