Browse “Research: Making the Case for Creative Aging”

Leisure Engagement in Older Age is Related to Objective and Subjective Experiences of Aging

Abstract:
Leisure engagement has potential to slow health and functional decline in older age. However, the benefits of different leisure domains for different aspects of aging remains unclear. In 8771 older adults from the Health and Retirement Study (a longitudinal panel study), we measured engagement in physical, creative, cognitive, and community activities. Outcome-wide analyses used 23 aging experiences across seven domains eight years later (daily functioning, physical fitness, long-term physical health problems, heart health, weight, sleep, subjective perceptions of health). Physical activity was related to more positive experiences in all domains but heart health eight years later. Creative engagement was positively related to aging experiences in four domains longitudinally. Cognitive and community engagement were less consistently related to aging experiences. Physical and creative activities may influence important aging metrics, reducing age-related decline and keeping older adults functionally independent for longer, potentially limiting increasing healthcare costs.

What They Found:
Older adults who engaged in creative activities more frequently showed better daily functioning, fitness, sleep, and overall feelings of health over time. Creative activities had more consistent benefits than community or cognitive ones, but physical activities showed the strongest impact.

Why It Matters:
Creative activities don’t just make people feel better – they keep people healthier, longer.

How You Can Use This:
Creative aging programs should be framed as part of the strategy to support healthy aging. Use this research to advocate for, design, or expand community programs where creative engagement is understood to be a health behavior like exercise.

The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging

Julia Hotz explores social prescribing — a health care approach that connects people to community activities like art, gardening, and volunteering to improve well-being. Through science and personal stories collected through hands-on research, Hotz shows how this practice helps treat conditions like depression and loneliness while easing pressure on health systems. The book offers a hopeful vision of healing by reconnecting to what truly matters.

From Loneliness to Social Connection: Charting a Path to Healthier Societies

This World Health Organization report illuminates the widespread yet overlooked impacts of social isolation and loneliness on individual health and society as a whole. Based on current evidence, it emphasizes the need for immediate, coordinated action and presents practical, scalable approaches to enhance social connections. calls on policymakers and stakeholders across all sectors to prioritize social health alongside physical and mental health. The report envisions a future where stronger social ties lead to improved well-being, fewer preventable deaths, and reduced social and economic challenges.

Group Arts Interventions for Depression and Anxiety Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we assessed the efficacy of group arts interventions, where individuals engage together in a shared artistic experience (for example, dance or painting), for reducing depression and anxiety among older adults (> 55 yr without dementia). Fifty controlled studies were identified via electronic databases searched to February 2024 (randomised: 42, non-randomised: 8). Thirty-nine studies were included. Thirty-six studies investigated the impact of group arts interventions on depression (n = 3,360) and ten studies investigated anxiety (n = 949). Subgroup analyses assessed whether participant, contextual, intervention and study characteristics moderated the intervention–outcome relationship. Risk of bias was assessed with appropriate tools (RoB-2, ROBINS-1). Group arts interventions were associated with a moderate reduction in depression (Cohen’s d = 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.54–0.87, P < 0.001) and a moderate reduction in anxiety (d = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.37–1.52, P < 0.001), although there was publication bias in the depression studies. After a trim and fill adjustment, the effect for depression remained (d = 0.42; CI = 0.35–0.50; P < 0.001). Context moderated this effect: There was a greater reduction in depression when group arts interventions were delivered in care homes (d = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.72–1.42, P < 0.001) relative to the community (d = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.32–0.70, P < 0.001). Findings indicate that group arts are an effective intervention for addressing depression and anxiety among older adults.

New Surgeon General Advisory Raises Alarm About the Devastating Impact of the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation in the United States

From the Press Release:

Today, United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a new Surgeon General Advisory calling attention to the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection in our country. Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness. Disconnection fundamentally affects our mental, physical, and societal health. In fact, loneliness and isolation increase the risk for individuals to develop mental health challenges in their lives, and lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking daily.

Role of Positive Age Beliefs in Recovery From Mild Cognitive Impairment Among Older Persons

From the Introduction:

It is widely assumed that individuals who develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) will not recover.1 Yet nearly half of older persons with MCI regain normal cognition.2 The reason for this improvement is not well understood. This study is the first, to our knowledge, to consider whether a culture-based factor—positive age beliefs—contributes to MCI recovery.

In previous experimental studies with older persons, positive age beliefs reduced stress caused by cognitive challenges, increased self-confidence about cognition, and improved cognitive performance.3,4 We therefore hypothesized that older persons with positive age beliefs would be more likely to recover from MCI and would do so sooner compared with individuals with negative age beliefs.