 Abstract | This thesis reports on an original qualitative study of older people’s perceptions about
how they benefited from participating in a creative arts program. The study brought
together the research fields of leisure, arts and ageing well to explore the meaning that
10 older people gave to their creative leisure experiences.
Narrative data from in-depth interviews were analysed using a qualitative approach. The
major finding of this study was that creative activities, particularly group arts activities,
can be a powerful mode for delivering leisure benefits to enhance ageing well. Many
participants attributed a sense of a new lease of life to the stimulating opportunities they
now had for self-expression. This new lease of life resulted from the benefits of
heightened enjoyment along with a strengthened sense of life purpose and meaning.
Sharing a common interest was identified as vital to enjoyable social interactions and a
sense of belonging.
The findings of this study indicate that there is certainly scope for the arts, leisure and
aged care fields to provide a more stimulating and developmental range of creative
programs to benefit older people. Furthermore, this study identified specific facilitating
strategies that leisure providers can incorporate into program design to enable older
people to reap the potential benefits that creative leisure can bring to their lives. |
