Investigating the Effects of a Museum Intervention on the Psychological and Cardiac Health of Older Adults (HeART-BRAIN)

HeART-BRAIN : Investigating the Effects of a Museum Intervention on the Psychological and Cardiac Health of Older Adults With and Without Atrial Fibrillation

In a recent report, the World Organization for Health provided some evidence that artistic and cultural activities can support the health and well-being of the population. Our previous research suggests that the effect of museum visits on well-being and stress might be tied to relaxing proprieties of contact with art objects, especially when the artwork is viewed with an introspective and self-reflexive approach. This study addresses the effect of a well-being museum intervention of six weeks on cerebral activity associated with artwork contemplation during a museum visit and assesses how it affects the psychological and cardiovascular health of older adults with and without atrial fibrillation. The well-being intervention will engage the participant in a series of 6 visits, in groups of 10, oriented on his feelings, impressions, and interpretations of artworks. This well-being museum intervention will be compared to visits typically provided in the museum, in a cross-over single-blinded design.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Aging; Atrial Fibrillation Recurrent
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Experimental: Well-being intervention followed by classic intervention; Other: Experimental: Classic intervention followed by well-being intervention

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Emma G Dupuy, PhD; Phone Number: 4345 514-374-1480; Email: emma.dupuy@umontreal.ca
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Louis G Bherer, PhD; Phone Number: 2059 514-376-3330; Email: louis.bherer@umontreal.ca

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Quebec
    • Montréal, Quebec, Canada, H1T1N6
      • Preventive medicine and physical activity centre (centre EPIC), Montreal Heart Institute

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Men/women aged 50 and over,
• Presenting normal or corrected vision and hearing,
• With or without controlled Atrial fibrillation,
• No specific expertise in visual arts (official degree or training relating to the visual arts),
• Occasionally attended museums and exhibitions (≤ 6 times per year).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Score > 5/15 on the geriatric depression scale,
• Score on the telephone version of the MMSE < 19,
• Psychiatric or neurological diagnosis,
• Presence of major functional limitations likely to affect the individual's ability to stand and walk independently.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Well-Being Museum intervention; The well-being intervention comprises six weeks of weekly museum visits, performed in groups of 10 participants. The well-being approach is based on the support of a museum mediator. His role is to help visitors to develop a more personal and sensitive understanding of artworks. To do this, he encourages the expression of feelings, impressions, and interpretations of the artwork, and supports exchanges within the group of visitors. With the mediator's support, the participants should be able to adopt a more subjective approach to the artwork, favoring their engagement when contemplating it.	Other: Experimental: Well-being intervention followed by classic intervention; 2 x 6 weeks of weekly museum visits; Other: Experimental: Classic intervention followed by well-being intervention; 2 x 6 weeks of weekly museum visits
Active Comparator: Classic Museum intervention; The classic intervention comprises six weeks of weekly museum visits, performed in groups of 10 participants. The classic museum session will be performed according to what is typically provided to visitors as part of a guided visit to the museum. Each visit will be accompanied by a volunteer guide trained in art history. He will guide participants across artworks and provide information about art pieces, the artist, and the historical context. The volunteer guide will provide context and informative content about the artwork without intending to influence the discussions and the visitor's apprehension of the artwork.	Other: Experimental: Well-being intervention followed by classic intervention; 2 x 6 weeks of weekly museum visits; Other: Experimental: Classic intervention followed by well-being intervention; 2 x 6 weeks of weekly museum visits

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in the activity evoked within the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex during the contemplation of artwork	Hemodynamic variations in the region of interest (concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin [HbO2], no units).	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in the activity evoked within the medial prefrontal cortex during the contemplation of artwork	Hemodynamic variations in the region of interest (concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin [HbO2], no units).	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Cognitive Reserve	Rami and colleagues' cognitive reserve questionnaire (Scale ranges from 0-26, with a higher score indicating a greater cognitive reserve).	Baseline
Self-reported masculinity and femininity trait	Short Form Bem Sex-Role Inventory questionnaire (30 items questionnaire with 10 items assessing the femininity traits, 10 items assessing the masculinity traits, and 10 items neutral, not scored. Two scores are calculated for femininity and masculinity, respectively, and range from 10-70, whit a higher score indicating a higher femininity or masculinity trait).	Baseline
Change in Heart rate	bpm	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions
Change in arterial pressure	mmHg	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions
Change in salivary cortisol concentration	microg/l	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions
Change in emotionnal regulation	Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale DERS-F scale (Score ranges from 36-180, with a higher score indicating more emotion regulation problems)	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions
Change in perceived stress	Perceived Stress Scale questionnaire (Score ranges from 0-4, with 0 no stress,1 mild stress, 3 moderate stress and 4 severe).	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions
Change in Depressive symptomatology	Geriatric Depression Scale questionnaire (Score ranges from 0-30, with a higher score indicating larger depressive symptomatology).	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions
Change in Quality-of-life	36-Item Short Form Health Survey (Scale ranges from 0-100, with a higher score indicating a better health status).	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions
Change in Perceived social support	Lubben Social Network Scale questionnaire (Score ranges from 0-30, with a higher score indicating more social engagement).	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions
Change in Repetitive negative thinking	Perseverative thinking questionnaire (Score ranges from 0-60, with a higher score indicating more repetitive negative thinking).	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions
Change in perceived fatigue	Fatigue Severity Scale (Score ranges from 9-63, with a higher score more fatigue)	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions
Change in global cognition	MoCA total score (Score ranges from 0-30, with a higher score indicating better performance)	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions
Change in executive functioning	Computerized Stroop task, Reaction time (ms)	Before and after the 6 weeks of interventions

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Louis Bherer
• Collaborators: Mitacs; Université de Montréal; Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): February 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): February 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 8, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 8, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): November 14, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): November 17, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 16, 2023
• Last Verified: November 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Stress; Neurocognition; Museum visits; Cardiovascular functioning
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathologic Processes; Heart Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Atrial Fibrillation
• Other Study ID Numbers: ICM 2024-3325

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No