Health and wellbeing impacts of arts and culture

This research was conducted by Karen Ford and three others at the University of Tasmania and Inscape Tasmania, Australia

Summary

This paper is an account of an arts in health programme at an acute older persons’ unit in a general hospital in Tasmania. There is a well-established body of work that …

This research was conducted by Kristine Lynn Haertl and Adrienne Maiers Ero-Phillips at St. Catherine University and Abbott Northwestern Hospital, USA

Summary

This study set out to explore the healing properties of “personal writing” (i.e. that which does not take place in a formal or structured setting). Specifically, it looked …

This research was conducted by Chris Hand at Kingston University.

Summary

This research took data from two years of the Taking Part survey (2012-2013) and compared people’s happiness levels with their arts attendance. The research was therefore based on a data set of more than 7,000 people. Overall there …

This research was conducted by Daisy Fancourt and Urszula Tymoszuk at University College London.

Summary

This paper explored whether cultural attendance by older adults is associated with a reduced risk of developing depression. The paper considered attendance to comprise visits to the theatre, concerts or opera, the cinema and art galleries …

This research was conducted by Gill Windle and six others at Bangor University and four other institutions.

Summary

This paper examined the results of four sessions of ‘Creative Conversations’: an arts-based intervention for care staff development. The 'Conversations' improved staff skills and confidence, enabling meaningful interactions that were ‘creative, ‘in the …

Summary

Parkinson’s Disease frequently impacts the balance and gait of sufferers and participation in dance programmes has been shown to generate improvements in patients. This article consolidates the existing literature on the topic. It …

This research was conducted by Wendy Vlismas, Stephen Malloch and Denis Burnham at the University of Western Sydney, Australia.

Summary:

In this work, a group of researchers investigated the effects of music and movement (M&M) on the interactions between first time mothers and their 2–6-month-old infants. They also evaluated the …

This research was conducted by Jenny M. Groarke and Michael J. Hogan at the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Summary

This study sought to determine how mood enhancement and other positive effects of music listening interact to support wellbeing, and how these factors differed between younger and older people. Mood regulation …

This research was conducted by Daisy Fancourt, Andrew Steptoe and Dorina Cadar at University College London

Summary

This paper demonstrates that taking part in community cultural engagement lowers the risk of developing dementia in old age. The research team analysed data from 9,550 adults aged 50 who were part of …

This research was conducted by Karen Gallant and four others at Dalhousie University and the University of Manitoba, Canada

Summary

This paper addressed the question of how art-making and exhibiting impacts recovery from mental health conditions. It asked artists themselves to reflect on their experiences. The study found that the arts …