A 3-month Cycle of Virtual Guided Tours to Promote Health in Older Community Members in a Context of COVID-19 Induced Social Isolation: a Pilot Study

Plain-language summary

Social isolation is defined as the objective and/or subjective reduction of number and quality of interpersonal contacts leading to a loss of an individual's social role and stigmatization. It is a major problem in Canadian society with a high prevalence in the older population (30% in individuals aged 65 and over, representing 1.5 million individuals). Social isolation is associated with a wide range of mental and physical health problems that leads to an increase in the use of health and social services. This issue increased with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic which attacking your society at its core. Social distancing and in particular home confinement exacerbated social isolation of frailer groups like the elderly people. In 2016, the International Federation on Ageing reported that "the main new problem facing seniors in Canada is maintaining their social contacts and activities". This highlights the need for efficient and effective interventions to improve the social inclusion of older adults experiencing social isolation. Research suggests that art-based activities carried out at museums have significant benefits for older adults experiencing social isolation, and may foster social inclusion, well-being, quality of life and mitigate frailty. Yet few studies have examined empirically the effects of museum art-based activities in older adults experiencing social isolation. In 2019, the principal investigator of this research conducted an experimental pilot study based on a pre-post intervention (i.e., 3-month cycle of weekly guided tours carried out at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA)), single arm, prospective and longitudinal follow-up named "Effects of Montreal Museum of Fine Arts visits and older community dwellers with a precarious state: An experimental study", which indicated the potential of museum tours to improve social inclusion, well-being, the quality of life and frailty in older community members experiencing social isolation. However, these studies were performed before the COVID-19 crisis and were in-site activities. The principal investigator hypothesizes that a 3-month cycle of virtual weekly MMFA tours may induce changes in well-being, quality of life and health condition in older community dwellers participating like the 'Beautiful Thursday' cycle, and that this activity can prevent the worsening of vulnerability and social isolation due to social distancing.

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