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Background: Older adults are at a higher risk of visual impairments, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). While AMD significantly affects the acuity of central vision and jeopardizes the daily functioning, there is an insufficient amount of psychosocial support for the older adults.

Objective: This study evaluated the short-term psychosocial effects of an expressive arts-based intervention (EXAT) on older adults with AMD.

Methods: A mixed-methods randomized controlled trial was conducted, with 70 participants randomized into the 8-week EXAT group and 71 participants into the waitlist control group (CG). EXAT applied various art forms to promote participants’ psychosocial well-being, such as cognitive flexibility. Participants completed a questionnaire to assess their psychosocial conditions at baseline (T0) and 8 weeks later (T1). A subsample of 35 participants participated in a semi-structured, in-depth interview at T1.

Results: 2x2 repeated-measures ANOVAs revealed significant intervention effects (group x time) in psychosocial adaptation, resilience, vision-specific quality of life dependency domain, and anxiety and depressive symptoms (η2=.035-.067, p=.003-.034), demonstrating improvements in psychosocial well-being in EXAT group across two timepoints compared to the CG. Participants shared that the EXAT inspired them with different coping strategies to manage the challenges of visual impairment, like breaking through fixations. EXAT enhanced their mood and provided social opportunities for them. Some also noted that EXAT might be too vague, preferring interventions that directly address the AMD symptoms.

Conclusion: EXAT can serve as psychosocial support to older adults with AMD. Long-term effects and potential mechanisms will be examined in follow-up studies.