The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the responses of people with late‐stage Alzheimer's disease (AD) to a creative bonding intervention (CBI). The CBI consisted of simple art activities. Guided by Reed's self‐transcendence theory, research questions were “Will persons with late‐stage AD show evidence of self‐transcendence during the CBI?” and “Will persons with late‐stage AD show evidence of well‐being during the CBI?” Twelve CBI sessions, documented by videotape and field notes, were conducted with four participants. Themes emerged within two clusters: trusting/thirsting/following and choosing/connecting/reminiscing. An overarching category of “cocooning” described participants' world during the CBI as they displayed evidence of self‐transcendence and well‐being. The CBI is a strategy that can be implemented by staff, families, and volunteers. Nurses are positioned to provide transformation leadership for implementation of creative approaches during care of people with late‐stage AD, but administrative and financial support are needed.

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Although numbers of older people are increasing, nursing students have negative attitudes towards older people and do not plan to care for them following graduation. Multiple strategies have been implemented to reverse students' attitudes with mixed results. The purpose of this pilot quasi-experimental study was to test a Creative-Bonding Intervention (CBI) with students implementing art activities with older people to promote students' willingness to take care of them. Using a self-transcendence conceptual framework, control (n = 56) and experimental (n = 14) student groups were pre-and post-tested on attitudes toward older people, self-transcendence, and willingness to serve. The CBI improved attitudes towards older people with negative attitudes significantly changed (P = .008) but with no significant differences on self-transcendence and willingness to serve. However, willingness to serve results approached significance (P = .08). The willingness measure (one question) should be expanded. Curricula changes that incorporate creative activities such as the CBI with larger and equal numbers in student groups and longitudinal follow up to determine long-term results after graduation are suggested.

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