Contributions of art therapy to promoting the health and quality of life of older adults

Abstract Objective to analyze the contributions of art therapy in promoting the health and quality of life of older adults. Method an integrative review was carried out using the health descriptors: “health promotion”, “art therapy”, “quality of life” and “aged”. Complete original articles were selected, in Portuguese, English and Spanish, and the period of publication of the articles was not defined to obtain a greater number of articles published. The search and selection of the articles included were carried out by two reviewers from November 2019 to April 2020. Results of the four articles selected to compose the sample, two were written in English and two in Portuguese. The articles included were published between 2007 and 2014, with two indexed in Scopus, one in the Scopus / PubMed / BVS databases and one in the CINAHL database. The expressive resources used in the art therapy process were varied: painting, drawing, modeling, body expression, among others. Conclusion the use of art therapy for health promotion in older adults demonstrated benefits in reducing negative factors of an affective, emotional and social nature. The articles analyzed suggest the positive effect of art therapy on quality of life in older adults.