Arte para estimular emociones y recuerdos contra el Alzheimerel museo como espacio de inclusión social

Abstract

Abstract The final goal of this research is to know if the non-pharmacological intervention, El arte de entretelas , a project based on emotional stimulation during art and museum experiences and cultural mediation, improves quality of life and self-esteem and, whether it encourages social inclusion of people with Alzheimer disease (AD). The main aim of this study is to make a research proposal within museology, which allows us to create similar experiences and achieve results and conclusions in our field of study. With these intentions in mind, the specific aims are the following: 1. Analyse the factor of participation within people with AD in the workshop 'El arte de Entretelas'. 2. Analyse the factors of attention, group interaction and emotional links within the participants during an act of cultural mediation. 3. Establish a link between memories and the emotions that they evoke in people with AD. 4. Identify, categorise and link the used stimuli, recalled memories and emotions in people with AD. 5. Study the relationship between the stimuli, memories and emotions in people with AD according to different stages of life. 6. Analyse the participants' emotional experience during the museum involvement and cultural mediation. During the development of this study, it has been fundamental to carry out a multiple methodology, where different technical aspects join and complement each other, as well as qualitative and quantitative processes. The focus of this research is a close observation of the workshop 'El arte de Entretelas', which attempts to analyse and describe the participants' emotional experience and the use of cultural mediation as a intervention tool. The results achieved reflect that the existence of emotions associated with recalled memories, according to the different stimulus and cultural mediation strategies used during the workshops, is very high. During all the sessions, a high percentage of the experience -in art sessions a 72%, objects 79%, or Pañuelo de la memoria 68% ("Memory Scarf")-, produced the appearance of basic emotions, and not impartial expressions. Moreover, the facial expression of happiness (52.8%) is the emotion that achieves the highest frequency of appearance by recalling the participants' memories. Indeed, sadness is present only in 10.9% of the cases. Other basic emotions are expressed, but to a lesser extent, like disgust (0.9%), despise (1.3%) and surprise (1.4%). One of the cultural mediation strategies developed in the workshop was the stimulation of memories according to the different life stages -childhood, youth and the present-. When studying the association of different emotions and the recalled memories of the mentioned life stages, it was observed that there was a tendency of reduced frequency of memories and appearance of emotions. The same happened with the participation of the sample, it reduced when working with the present/actual life. This result reflects that people with AD feel more comfortable to participate and have a more significant emotional experience when their remote memory is stimulated, but not with the evocation of recent memories. The group interaction and the attention of the sample were also highly valued which prove that the emotional experience stimulation and the cultural mediation developed during the workshops obtain a significant value in the fight against AD. The outcome of the emotional experience during the workshops coincides with the results obtained in the analysis of the associated emotions by the evocation of described memories. This leads us to think that El arte de entretelas is a therapeutic accomplishment that generates happiness and emotional well-being in the participants. Furthermore it shows it is possible to intervene in the emotional mood of people with AD using recalled memories that link with one lifespan through cultural mediation and museums. In this way, their self-esteem and quality of life can be improved, as well as their family's and caregivers' lives.