7 February 2024
Arts and HealthMuseums can help foster social inclusion and improve the overall health status of older adults. Paradoxically, many older people who complied with social distancing measures also suffered from the 2019 coronavirus pandemic, as this lockdown may have accelerated processes leading to physical frailty and increased risks to mental health.
This study aimed to examine whether a three-month cycle of weekly virtual visits to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) could improve feelings of social inclusion, well-being and quality of life, and reduce physical frailty among community-dwelling older adults in Montreal.
A total of 106 older adults living in Montreal (Quebec, Canada) were recruited into a two-arm randomized clinical trial (intervention n=53 vs control n=53) conducted between January and April 2022. The intervention consisted of a 3-month cycle of weekly virtual MMFA visits. Social isolation, well-being, quality of life and frailty were assessed using validated scales administered on a web platform at baseline (M0) and after 3 months (M3) in the intervention group. The control group completed the same assessments on the same schedule. Outcomes were mean scores at M0 and M3, and changes in mean scores between M0 and M3.
The intervention group showed significant improvements in social isolation, well-being, quality of life and frailty scores compared with the control group, with the greatest benefits observed for frailty.
These results suggest that a three-month cycle of weekly virtual MMFA visits can improve social inclusion and the physical and mental health of community-dwelling older adults in Montreal.
Project registration | NCT05046288; Title: A 3-month Cycle of Weekly Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Tours to Promote Social Inclusion, Well-being, Quality of Life and Health in Older Community Members Experiencing Social Isolation; First posted date: September 8, 2021; prospectively registered; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05046288
EVENTS
6 February 2024 – 6 February 2024
[ Free admission ]
Montréal
Arts and HealthPresentation of Results – Museum Visit Program
Latest Podcasts & Videos
Perspectives and the Future of the Creative Economy
23 March 2026
Students from CREAT share their perspectives and research. From regional culture to the arts and health, as well as digital creativity and discoverability, these intersecting viewpoints offer an inspiring glimpse into the future of the creative economy and its impact on collective well-being.
Understanding the challenges of discoverability to make music accessible
16 March 2026
At the intersection of migration trajectories and Québec’s cultural ecosystems, this episode explores the priorities that should guide efforts around discoverability. Caroline Marcoux-Gendron, Affiliated Professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal, and Romuald Jamet, Associate Professor at INRS, discuss the distinctive features of Québec’s music landscape: its linguistic, institutional, and cultural dynamics, as well as the recognition biases that affect, among others, artists from immigrant backgrounds.
CREATivity in Action: Stories of Digital Practices
9 March 2026
Digital creativity is transforming the ways we produce and interact. Two researchers from CREAT—Philippe Vaucher, professor in the Unité d’enseignement et de recherche en création et nouveaux médias at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), and Louis-Philippe Rondeau, also a professor at the École des arts numériques de l’animation et du design at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (NAD/UQAC)—shed light on current innovations in this field.