Arts in Health
CAHHM recognises and engages with the growing diversity of arts in
health practice. Some projects may focus on the therapeutic
benefits of the arts, some on environmental improvements to support
health staff in delivering their care services, and others look at
producing more creative kinds of health information. When doing
arts in health work with communities, some projects may also focus on
the concept of social capital where 'unity is health'. Because of
this diversity a range of appropriate research and evaluation methods
are required. CAHHM prefers to articulate arts in health research
from the perspective of practice, and is interested in combining
like-minded projects into programmes, thereby sharing practice and
research.
Whilst social and other health scientists have demonstrated various positive correlations in this area, the underlying causal mechanisms remain to be explored. The link between art and health is now recognised to be a social process requiring new and fundamental research.
Summary of the Proceedings of the First Windsor Conference. The Nuffield Trust, 1999.
Image by kind permission of START, Manchester
