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Arts and cultural engagement is a potential strategy for reducing or preventing reportedly antisocial or criminalized behaviors (those previously and problematically termed as “delinquent”) in adolescence. However, most research to date has focused on arts-based interventions and has not tested arts and cultural engagement in large population-based longitudinal studies. This study investigated whether arts and cultural engagement reduced reportedly antisocial or criminalized behaviors in two large nationally representative cohorts, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 10,610; 50% female, 72% White, age range = 11–21 mean = 15.07) and the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (n = 15,214; 50% female, 73% White, age range = 13–16 mean = 14.38). Structural equation modelling also allowed exploration of two potential mechanisms that might link arts and cultural engagement to reportedly antisocial or criminalized behaviors (self-control and attitudes towards these behaviors). More arts and cultural engagement was associated with fewer reportedly antisocial or criminalized behaviors, better self-control scores, and fewer positive perceptions of reportedly antisocial or criminalized behaviors concurrently and one to two years later. Arts and cultural engagement may provide opportunities for adolescents to realize positive developmental outcomes, reducing their risk of reportedly antisocial or criminalized behaviors.

Objectives: There is evidence to suggest that leisure engagement may influence self-perceptions of ageing, but disentangling potential bidirectionality in this relationship is challenging. A better understanding of the directionality of this association is essential for designing more effective interventions to promote healthy aging. We therefore tested both lagged and concurrent effects in both directions both for a composite measure of leisure engagement as well as specific domains of community, cognitive, creative, and physical activities.Method: A total of 17,753 adults aged 50 or above living in the United States from the Health and Retirement Study were included in the analysis. They provided 32,703 observations over three waves between 2008/2010 and 2016/2018. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling with both concurrent and lagged associations between self-perceptions of aging and leisure engagement, controlling for confounders including age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic position, and health conditions. Results: We found consistent evidence for leisure engagement as a predictor of self-perceptions of aging. There was weaker evidence for a reciprocal relationship, although this was found in the domains of creative activities and physical activities, where these two activities were also predicted by older adults’ self-perceptions of aging.Discussion: Our findings provide empirical support for potential benefits of leisure engagement on positive self-perceptions of aging, regardless of the type of activities. As the overall association appears to be stronger between leisure engagement and subsequent self-perceptions of aging, interventions designed to increase leisure engagement may be effective for improving older adults' health.

Background: There is increasing interest in the potential benefits of referring older adults to engage in community-based arts activities to enhance health. The arts have been found to have wide-ranging benefits for older adults including being associated with an increased lifespan. However, it remains unclear whether they are additionally associated with an increase in the portion of people’s lives for which they remain healthy ('healthspan’).Methods: We included 1,269 older adults who completed the 2014 Arts and Culture Supplement of the Health and Retirement Study and were alive in 2016 and 2018. We measured the number of participatory arts activities engaged in (e.g., reading, crafts, dancing) and the frequency of receptive arts engagement (e.g., going to a gallery or performance) in the past year. Healthy aging was a binary outcome, conceptualized using a previously validated definition of no major chronic diseases, no cognitive impairment, good physical functioning, and good mental health. Logistic regression models tested whether receptive and participatory arts engagement were associated with healthy aging two and four years later.Results: After adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic covariates, doing receptive arts activities once a month or more was associated with 84% higher odds of healthy aging two years later compared to never engaging (adjusted OR [AOR]=1.84, 95% CI=1.06-3.19). There was some weak evidence that this association was maintained four years later (AOR=1.68, 95% CI=0.97-2.90). Although doing one participatory arts activity was associated with 53% lower odds of healthy aging four years later compared to no participation (AOR=0.47, 95% CI=0.26-0.87), this association was not present at two years or for higher levels of participatory arts engagement. Conclusions: Expanding on previous studies, which have suggested that receptive arts engagement is related to prolonged longevity, our findings suggest that receptive arts engagement may also be associated with better overall health and function in those who survive. Those with poorer health may have been engaging in participatory arts because they were unable to attend receptive arts or broader leisure activities (indicating reverse causality), or receptive arts activities may contain specifically beneficial active ingredients for healthy aging. These possibilities present promising avenues for future research.

Introduction We investigated whether changes in engagement in home-based creative activities were associated with changes in depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to replicate findings from the UK in a US sample.Methods 3,725 adults were included from the COVID-19 Social Study in the United States, a panel study collecting data weekly during the COVID-19 pandemic. We measured engagement in eight types of creative leisure activities on the previous weekday between April and September 2020. Data were analysed using fixed effects regression models. Results Increased time spent gardening was associated with reductions in depressive and anxiety symptoms and enhanced life satisfaction. Spending more time doing woodwork/DIY and arts/crafts were also associated with enhanced life satisfaction. However, more time watching TV, films, or other similar media (not for information on COVID-19) was associated with increased depressive symptoms. Other creative activities were not associated with mental health or wellbeing. Conclusion Some findings differ from evidence obtained in the UK, demonstrating the importance of replicating research across countries. Our findings should also be considered when formulating guidelines for future stay-at-home directives, enabling individuals to stay well despite the closure of public resources.

There is growing evidence for the impact of arts engagement on later life cognition. However, confounding by socioeconomic factors may have led to an overestimation of this association. We analyzed data from 4,344 older adults in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. We measured participatory (e.g., painting, making music, crafts) and receptive (e.g., concert, play, museum) arts engagement separately. Six neurocognitive tests measured two aspects of cognition (episodic/working memory and executive function/language) concurrently and seven years later. We used inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) to remove confounding by a range of demographic and socioeconomic factors. Engaging in participatory or receptive arts for up to one hour per week (but not more frequently) was associated with better subsequent executive function/language. Similarly, engaging in receptive arts activities for up to three hours per week (but not more frequently) was associated with better subsequent episodic/working memory. These effects were of similar sizes to doing vigorous physical activity for up to one hour per week. However, our findings also highlight key methodological issues when exploring the relationship between arts engagement and cognition that should be considered in future studies, including measurement bias, life-course stage, length of follow-up, variation in outcomes, attrition, and missing data.

The significance of mental health inequities globally is illustrated by higher rates of anxiety and depression amongst racial and ethnic minority populations as well as individuals of lower socioeconomic status. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated these pre-existing mental health inequities. With rising mental health concerns, arts engagement offers an accessible, equitable opportunity to combat mental health inequities and impact upstream determinants of health. As the field of public health continues to shift its focus toward social ecological strategies, the social ecological model of health offers an approach that prioritizes social and structural determinants of health. To capture the impacts of arts engagement, this paper creates an applied social ecological model of health while aiming to advocate that engaging in the arts is a protective and rehabilitative behavior for mental health.

While dance programs for people with Parkinson's disease (PD) have been developed globally over the past two decades, dance programs for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) are just emerging. This article introduces three dance for MS programs and a multi-site partnership that was developed to evaluate and advance a model for dance for MS programs. The program partners convened over 2 days to share program models, consider current and planned program evaluations, and identify unique challenges and promising practices for delivering safe and effective dance for MS programs. This paper presents the findings of this convening and recommendations for dance for MS programs.Background:While dance programs for people with Parkinson's disease (PD) have been developed globally over the past two decades, dance programs for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) are just emerging. This article introduces three dance for MS programs and a multi-site partnership that was developed to evaluate and advance a model for dance for MS programs.Methods: The program partners convened over 2 days to share program models, consider current and planned program evaluations, and identify unique challenges and promising practices for delivering safe and effective dance for MS programs.Results:A set of promising practices for dance for MS programs, including recommendations for partnership, dance and movement approaches, and environmental, physical and psychosocial considerations, was developed by the program partners.Conclusions: These programs suggest that dance may be a useful modality for people with MS. Recommendations are offered to guide safe and evidence-based dance for MS practices.

Introduction. Substance use (e.g., alcohol, marijuana, tobacco) is common during adolescence and may lead to a number of long-term negative outcomes (e.g., poor mental health). It is therefore important to explore factors that reduce the risk of engaging in these potentially harmful behaviours. Extracurricular activities (i.e., how people spend their free time) are known to be effective in reducing the risk of engaging in substance use, but the specific effects of arts and cultural engagement are less known. Methods. Data were from the first four waves (1994-2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (ages 12-17 years). Arts and cultural engagement were measured at wave 1 (1994) by (i) the number of arts and culture groups engaged in and (ii) the weekly frequency of arts and culture related hobbies. Substance use was measured using three binary indicators of any past month alcohol intoxication, marijuana, and tobacco use measured at waves 1 to 4. Latent growth curve modelling was used to examine associations between arts and cultural engagement (group participation and weekly hobbies) at wave 1 and trajectories of past month alcohol intoxication, marijuana use, and tobacco use over waves 1 to 4. Analyses accounted for sociodemographic covariates.Results. At wave 1, participating in more arts and cultural groups was associated with lower concurrent likelihood of being intoxicated by alcohol and using tobacco. However, longitudinally, differences in likelihoods began to narrow across waves until there was no difference by wave 4. There was no association with marijuana use. Similar results were found for engagement in hobbies; adolescents who participated in more weekly hobbies were less likely to have used any of the three substances concurrently, although over time, the differences between the groups narrowed. However, there was some evidence that the differences persisted across waves when using a less stringent (weekly) alcohol intoxication variable. Conclusions. Overall, this research confirms associations between arts and cultural engagement and substance use at a population level amongst adolescents in the US. Actively engaging in arts and cultural activities is associated with reduced risk of concurrent substance use suggesting a potential protective relationship. However, this protection attenuates over time. As we only examined arts and cultural activities at one time point, whether sustained engagement in these activities differentially influences the risk of substance use requires further investigation.

The arts—and the arts and culture sector—offer fertile ground for achieving a culture of health in the United States. The arts and artists are agents of change and can help enable this vision and also address the most critical public health issues we are contending with, including COVID-19 and racism. The arts provide means for engaging dialogue, influencing behaviors, disrupting paradigms and fueling social movements. The arts uncover and illuminate issues. They engage us emotionally and intellectually. They challenge assumptions. They call out injustice. They drive collective action. They heal—making arts + public health collaboration very relevant in this historic moment. In this special Health Promotion Practice supplement on arts in public health, you’ll find powerful examples and evidence of how cross-sector collaboration between public health and the arts can advance health promotion goals and impacts, and make health promotion programs not only more accessible to diverse populations but also more equitable and effective in addressing the upstream systems, policies, and structures that create health disparities. You will see how the arts can empower health communication, support health literacy, provide direct and measurable health benefits to individuals and communities, and support coping and resilience in response to COVID-19. This issue itself exemplifies cross-sector collaboration, as it was created through partnership between Health Promotion Practice, the Society for Public Health Education, ArtPlace America, and the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine, and presents voices from across the public health, arts, and community development sectors.

Background: Wellbeing plays an essential role in a complete and health community. Participatory arts interventions are popular to address wellbeing. Participatory drum circles can lead to social resilience, emotional completeness, and mental health benefits. The literature in the field of arts in health demonstrate the specific ways a drum circle may affect wellbeing through socialization, rhythmic entrainment, and expression. Although there are many great resources, many lack the specific tools to facilitate a drum circles as it pertains to specific technique and styles often utilized in percussion in the field of arts in health. Methods: The project used a mixed methods research design. A convergent mixed methods design will be used to collect quantitative data from the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and the qualitative data will be received from a focus group. The results will be compared with the hopes of yielding similar themes. Results: The results of the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing scale demonstrate an increase of the average wellbeing score after the four-week intervention by 2.88 points. The focus group’s final themes were 1) the core of the drum circle is driven from the facilitator fostering a strong sense of community that supports being inclusionary, respectful, and social; 2) Learning new skills in a community group benefits participants confidence because a) the curriculum progresses naturally and easily and b) rhythm is an innate and natural part of everyday life for individuals, making drum circles more comfortable.

Introduction: Externalising behaviours during adolescence are associated with numerous long-term negative outcomes, although the majority of research is intervention-based as opposed to focused on risk reduction. Arts engagement has been associated with numerous beneficial factors linked to externalising behaviours, yet direct evidence linking them in longitudinal studies is lacking. Methods: Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study were used, with baseline taken at 5th grade (aged 10-11 years) and outcomes measured at 8th grade (13-14 years). Ordinary least squares regression was used to examine individual-level associations between extracurricular and school-based arts engagement (number arts classes and adequacy of arts facilities) with externalising behaviours measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Poisson regression was used to examine associations between school-level arts classes and facilities with an administrator-reported index of externalising behaviours in the school. All models were adjusted for sociodemographic factors. Individual-level analyses were clustered by school.Results: At the individual level, engaging in a greater number of extracurricular arts activities in 5th grade was associated with fewer externalising behaviours in 8th grade, although there was no association for school-based arts engagement. There were no school-level associations between arts classes or adequate arts facilities and externalising behaviours. Conclusions: Our results suggest extracurricular arts activities may be beneficial in reducing the risk for externalising behaviours, but the relationship is seen at an individual-level of engagement rather than based on school-level provision or facilities. Ensuring extracurricular access to the arts should be considered as a cost-effective way of preventing externalising behaviours while simultaneously promoting healthy emotional, coping, and social behaviours.

ObjectivesReceptive cultural engagement (e.g., attending theaters and museums) can reduce depression in older adults. However, whether specific participatory leisure activities are associated with lower rates of depression remains unknown. We aimed to test whether engagement in a diverse range of leisure activities, all of which could involve artistic or creative elements, was associated with concurrent and subsequent depression.MethodsUsing longitudinal data from 19,134 participants aged over 50 in the Health and Retirement Study, engagement in leisure activities was measured every four years, and depression every two years, between 2008 and 2016. Leisure activities included: reading books, magazines, or newspapers; writing; baking/cooking something special; making clothes, knitting, or embroidery (sewing); working on hobbies/projects; going to sport, social, or other clubs; and attending non-religious organization meetings. A score of three or more on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale indicated depression. We fitted population-averaged panel data models using generalized estimating equations with a logit link.ResultsEngaging in some leisure activities, such as clubs, hobbies/projects, and baking/cooking was associated with reduced depression, independent of confounders. Concurrently, spending time on hobbies/projects (monthly OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.72–0.88; weekly OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.73–0.89) and clubs (monthly OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.77–0.94; weekly OR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.69–0.88) was associated with lower odds of depression versus not engaging. Longitudinally, the odds of depression two years later were reduced amongst people engaging in weekly baking/cooking (OR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.75– 0.95), hobbies (OR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.71–0.92), and clubs (OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.71–0.94). Writing, reading, sewing, and attending non-religious organizations were not consistently associated with depression.DiscussionEngagement in some leisure activities is associated with reduced odds of depression. We should consider how older adults can be supported to actively participate in leisure activities as health-promoting behaviors.

Background Engaging in the arts is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. While it is generally accepted that there is a social gradient in traditional arts and cultural activities, such as attending classical music performances and museums, previous studies of arts engagement in the US have not adequately investigated whether similar demographic and socioeconomic factors are related to other forms of arts engagement. Methods Using cross-sectional data from the General Social Survey (GSS) in the US, we examined which demographic, socioeconomic, residential, and health factors were associated with attendance at arts events, participation in arts activities, membership of creative groups, and being interested in (but not attending) arts events. We combined data from 1993 to 2016 in four analytical samples with a sample size of 8684 for arts events, 4372 for arts activities, 4268 for creative groups, and 2061 for interested non-attendees. Data were analysed using logistic regression. Results More education was associated with increased levels of all types of arts engagement. Parental education demonstrated a similar association. Being female, compared to male, was also consistently associated with higher levels of engagement. Attendance at arts events was lower in participants with lower income and social class, poorer health, and those living in less urban areas. However, these factors were not associated with participation in arts activities or creative groups or being an interested non-attendee. Conclusions Overall, we found evidence for a social gradient in attendance at arts events, which was not as pronounced in participation in arts activities or creative groups or interest in arts events. Given the many benefits of engagement in the arts for education, health, and wider welfare, our findings demonstrate the importance of identifying factors to reduce barriers to participation in the arts across all groups in society.

There is a social gradient in both arts engagement and wellbeing which may have led to an overestimation of the impact of arts engagement on wellbeing in previous research. Using data from 12,111 older adults in the Health and Retirement Study (2014-2016), we tested whether participation in community arts groups was associated with concurrent wellbeing. We measured life satisfaction (evaluative wellbeing), positive and negative affect (experienced wellbeing), and purpose in life, constraints on personal control, and mastery (eudaimonic wellbeing). We used propensity score matching to remove confounding by a range of demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors. Participating in arts groups was associated with higher positive affect (average treatment effect on the treated (ATT)=0.19, 95% CI=0.13-0.24), life satisfaction (ATT=0.10, 95% CI=0.05-0.16), purpose in life (ATT=0.08, 95% CI=0.02-0.14), and mastery (ATT=0.08, 95% CI=0.02-0.13) than not participating. Arts group participation was not associated with negative affect or constraints on personal control. After matching on a range of potential confounders, participation in arts groups was associated with the positive elements of evaluative, experienced, and eudaimonic wellbeing. Facilitating participation in community arts groups could help to promote healthy aging, enabling a growing segment of the population to lead more fulfilling and satisfying lives.

Three case studies of veterans are presented who received either art therapy, dance/movement therapy or music therapy via in-home, synchronous clinical video telehealth through a VA medical center in the southeastern United States. As the use of distance technology becomes more widely implemented within healthcare, it becomes increasingly important for providers to receive adequate training and develop comfort and confidence in adapting their practices to distance delivery. Case studies are one way for creative arts therapists to conceptualize and demonstrate how their in-person practices can be adapted for distance delivery via telehealth.

An urgent need exists for trained specialists to manage organizational policies and practices involving arts programs and activities in healthcare facilities. This article introduces the field of a...

The arts-and the arts and culture sector-offer fertile ground for achieving a culture of health in the United States. The arts and artists are agents of change and can help enable this vision and also address the most critical public health issues we are contending with, including COVID-19 and racism. The arts provide means for engaging dialogue, influencing behaviors, disrupting paradigms and fueling social movements. The arts uncover and illuminate issues. They engage us emotionally and intellectually. They challenge assumptions. They call out injustice. They drive collective action. They heal-making arts + public health collaboration very relevant in this historic moment. In this special Health Promotion Practice supplement on arts in public health, you'll find powerful examples and evidence of how cross-sector collaboration between public health and the arts can advance health promotion goals and impacts, and make health promotion programs not only more accessible to diverse populations but also more equitable and effective in addressing the upstream systems, policies, and structures that create health disparities. You will see how the arts can empower health communication, support health literacy, provide direct and measurable health benefits to individuals and communities, and support coping and resilience in response to COVID-19. This issue itself exemplifies cross-sector collaboration, as it was created through partnership between Health Promotion Practice, the Society for Public Health Education, ArtPlace America, and the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine, and presents voices from across the public health, arts, and community development sectors.

International audience; Study Objective. Suicide is a serious health problem that is shaped by a variety of social and mental health factors. A growing body of research connects the arts to positive health outcomes; however, no previous systematic reviews have examined the use of the arts in suicide prevention and survivorship. This review examined how the arts have been used to address suicide prevention and survivorship in nonclinical settings in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Design and Setting. Ten bibliographic databases, five research repositories, and reference sections of articles were searched to identify published studies. Articles presenting outcomes of interventions conducted between 2014 and 2019 and written in English, were included. Primary Results. Nine studies met inclusion criteria, including qualitative, quantitative randomized controlled trials, quantitative nonrandomized, quantitative descriptive, and mixed-methods studies. The programs studied used film and television (n = 3), mixed-arts (n = 3), theatre (n = 2), and quilting (n = 1). All nine interventions used the arts to elicit emotional involvement, while seven also used the arts to encourage engagement with themes of health. Study outcomes included increased self-efficacy, awareness of mental health issues, and likelihood for taking action to prevent suicide, as well as decreases in suicidal risk and self-harming behaviors. Conclusions. Factors that influence suicide risk and survivorship may be effectively addressed through arts-based interventions. While the current evidence is promising with regard to the potential for arts programs to positively affect suicide prevention and survivorship, this evidence needs to be supplemented to inform recommendations for evidence-based arts interventions.

Engaging in the arts is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. While it is generally accepted that there is a social gradient in arts participation, previous studies of arts engagement in the US have not used comprehensive measures of engagement and often focus on single demographic or socioeconomic predictors of engagement rather than simultaneously testing a range of factors that may be related to one another. Using cross-sectional data from the General Social Survey (GSS) in the US, we examined which demographic, socioeconomic, residential, and health factors were associated with attendance at arts events, participation in arts activities, and membership of creative groups. We combined data from 1993 to 2016 in three analytical samples with a sample size of 8,684 for arts events, 4,372 for arts activities, and 4,268 for creative groups. Data were analysed using logistic regression. More education was associated with increased levels of all types of arts engagement. Parental education demonstrated a similar association. Being female, compared to male, was also consistently associated with higher levels of engagement. Attendance at arts events was lower in participants with lower income and social class, poorer health, and those living in less urban areas. However, these factors were not associated with engagement in arts activities or creative groups. Overall, we found evidence for a social gradient in attendance at arts events, which was not as pronounced in engagement in arts activities or creative groups. Given the many benefits of engagement in the arts for education, health, and wider welfare, our findings demonstrate the importance of identifying factors to reduce barriers to participation in the arts across all groups in society.

Previous work suggests mediating effects of music on acute pain processing. This quasi-experimental pilot study examined the effects of music on experimental pain sensitivity.Healthy adults (Participants demonstrated longer time intervals until perceiving pain and tolerated pain for longer durations when singing compared to listening. Greater self-reported singing proficiency was associated with higher tolerance. Several musical factors were significantly correlated with time from pain threshold to reaching tolerance.Singing during an acute painful stimulus may increase tolerance. Various musical characteristics impact volunteers' central pain responses and singing may be an important adjunct pain management strategy.

Objectives: Guided by the hypothesis that the arts can play a role in changing attitudes, beliefs, and health behaviors, the objectives of the study were to (1) overview artistic practices, interventions, and research being conducted at the intersection of the arts and health communication and (2) identify desired and observed outcomes and variables measured in these studies. Data Source: The search strategy was developed iteratively with 2 health science librarians and conducted using 8 databases (Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Art and Architecture Source, CINAHL, Communication and Mass Media Complete, ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science) and hand searching. Articles included were published between 2014 and 2018. Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria: Inclusion criteria include US nonclinical setting and use of the arts (broadly defined) to change health knowledge, beliefs, behaviors, or awareness. Any articles not meeting inclusion criteria were excluded. Data Extraction: Covidence’s data extraction tool exported to MS Excel. Data Synthesis: This final set of results was analyzed and synthesized by research design, population, sample size, health issue, purpose, variables measured, and findings. Results: In all, 78 articles met inclusion criteria. Number of participants ranged from 4 to 2140 (mean = 179); 61 (78.2%) outcome studies, including 8 experimental studies; 17 (21.79%) formative research or reports. Many different health topics were addressed and different art forms used. Conclusion: The arts can help build knowledge and awareness of health issues. The authors highlight the need to build an evidence base for arts and public health.

Arts programs are increasingly recognized for their ability to enhance healthcare and promote health outcomes such as improved quality of life, increased motivation and reduced levels of depression and anxiety. This manuscript describes a creative arts therapy practice known as the Rural Veterans TeleRehabilitation Initiative Creative Arts Therapy (RVTRI CAT) Project that was established to improve access to mental health care and rehabilitation for rural veterans. Entering its third year, the RVTRI CAT project has adapted the creative arts therapies for delivery using Clinical Video Telehealth (CVT). Insights, considerations and best practices are considered for art therapy and dance/movement therapy with implications for future application in music, drama and poetry therapy. In conclusion, the RVTRI CAT program demonstrates that creative arts therapy can successfully be adapted to CVT with some modifications by the creative arts therapist.

Objectives This study aimed to measure the effects of a dance training program on subjective and objective balance and gait measures in a person with Parkinson's disease. Design and Setting The participant was measured via clinical scales and biomechanical balance and gait analyses pre- and post-16 weeks of dance participation at the University Center for Arts in Medicine. The dance program consisted of 75 minute sessions three days a week. Results Improved clinical scales included the Schwab and England scale (+10%), falls efficacy scale (−11 points), six-minute walk (+15.54m), and timed up and go (1.38s). Balance measures during three conditions (eyes open, eyes closed, and narrow stance) all demonstrated an increase (24–112%) in center of pressure path length, velocity (anteroposterior and mediolateral), sway area, and approximate entropy (anteroposterior and mediolateral). Spatiotemporal gait parameters improved during forward walking: velocity (+0.12m/s), cadence (+3.89steps/min), double support time (−2.02%), stride length (+0.07m), stride time (−0.03s), and backward walking: single support (+3.47%), double support (−7.0%), swing time (+3.4%), and stance time (−3.4%). Conclusions Classic interpretation of the above measures may indicate a detriment in biomechanical balance effects concomitant with an improvement in gait. Alternative explanations explored suggest this paradox to be illusory.

Background: There has been tremendous progress linking the arts to health over the past five decades in the United States. An academic discipline has been clearly established through the developmen...

A mapping project was conducted to document and describe arts in health programs in the state of Florida, USA. The project utilized a systematic process for identification, verification, analysis and mapping of programs through three primary methods: (1) systematic search; (2) verification; and (3) an online survey. The study identified and categorized 107 arts in health programs in Florida. The project suggests that mapping can be undertaken at the state level, and provides a starting point for development of a replicable systematic process for mapping arts in health programs.

Arts and humanities have central roles to play to transform the culture of care, wellbeing, and health. How we educate health care professionals and artists is shifting in response to global pressures, and a rapidly accelerating tech-fueled world. This chapter explores the intersections of arts, health, technology, education, and society.

This qualitative interview study brings the voices of 27 public health leaders, health communication experts, and artists who work in public health in Uganda together to articulate the principles and practices that make the country a shining example of effective, evidence-based use of the arts for health communication. The specific aim of the study was to identify best practices, theoretical foundations, and other factors that contribute to the success of arts-based health communication campaigns in Uganda. The study presents four primary themes related to use of the arts for health communication in Uganda: (1) the arts empower health communication; (2) the arts engage people emotionally; (3) effective programs are highly structured; and (4) professionalism is critical to program effectiveness. The findings suggest that the arts humanize, clarify, and empower health communication. The arts can attract attention and engage target populations, reduce hierarchical divisions and tensions that can challenge communication between health professionals and community members, make concepts clearer and more personally and culturally relevant, and communicate at an emotional level wherein concepts can be embodied and made actionable. The findings articulate why and how the arts are an effective means for health communication and can guide best practices.

Background: Arts in medicine programs have significant impacts on patients and staff in long-term care environments, but the literature lacks evidence of effectiveness on hospital units with shorter average lengths of stay. Methods: The qualitative study used individual structured interviews to assess the impacts of arts programming on job satisfaction, stress, unit culture, support, quality of care, and patient outcomes on a short-term medical-surgical unit, and used a qualitative cross comparison grounded theory methodology to analyze data. Results: The study confirmed that arts programming can positively affect unit culture, nursing practice, and quality of care on short-stay medical-surgical units. Significant insights related to nursing practice and the art program were found, including that music can cause negative distraction for staff. Conclusions: While positive impacts of arts programming on the medical-surgical environment are clear, potential negative effects also need to be considered in the development of practice protocols for artists.

Increased attention is being given to interprofessional collaboration in healthcare, which has been shown to improve patient satisfaction, patient safety, healthcare processes, and health outcomes. As the arts and artists are being more widely incorporated into healthcare settings throughout the world, professional artists are contributing to interprofessional care teams. A secondary directed content analysis of interviews with 31 nurses on a medical-surgical care unit investigated the roles and impacts of professional artists on the interprofessional care team. The investigation utilized established domains of interprofessional care, including values and ethics, roles and responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork, and created the domain of quality of care. Findings suggest that artists are valued by nurses as members of the interprofessional care team, that they enhance the provision of patient-centered care, and that they improve quality of care by providing holistic dimensions of caring, including cognitive and social engagement, and meaningful interaction. The presence of artists on interprofessional teams provides a cost-effective and welcome resource for clinical staff and builds a culture in which creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration are more highly valued and activated.

Transforming the Healthcare Experience Through the Arts Transforming the Healthcare Experience Th rough the Arts. Blair L. Sadler and Annette Ridenour (2009). San Diego, CA: Aesthetics, Inc. 226 pages. ISBN: 0984232605Th e arts in healthcare represent a diverse, multidisciplinary fi eld dedicated to transforming the healthcare experience by connecting people with the power of the arts at key moments in their lives (Society for the Arts in Healthcare, State of the Field Committee, 2009). Over the past 3 decades, a convergence of interests-among artists to bring their art to healthcare settings, among patients and staff to experience the presence of the arts, and among healthcare institutions to utilize the arts-has spurred the emergence of the arts in healthcare as a fi eld (Pratt, 2003). Th e arts-in-healthcare programs have been increasingly embraced over these decades by healthcare organizations worldwide as a means of meeting organizational and patient care goals.Such programs use the visual, performing, and literary arts to enhance quality of care, improve health outcomes, improve organizational satisfaction and retention among professional caregivers and staff , enhance the environment of care, and deliver health information. Of primary intent in the practice of arts in healthcare is the use of the arts and creative engagement to reduce suff ering, promote health, and assist healthcare organizations in providing eff ective patient-centered care (Sonke, Rollins, Brandman, & Graham-Pole, 2009).In Transforming the Healthcare Experience Th rough the Arts, Blair Sadler and Annette Ridenour provide healthcare professionals and arts-in-healthcare practitioners with a compelling case for why the arts should be integral to healthcare and a beautifully presented guide to best practices and established outcomes from the fi eld. A timely contribution to the fi eld, this book and the programs it promotes have the potential to eff ect the transformation and improvements that the healthcare industry is striving to achieve in the 21st century. Th e programs featured in the book demonstrate clearly and convincingly that the arts are appropriate, eff ective, and cost-effi cient strategies for increasing patient and staff satisfaction and for improving patient safety and quality of care.With more than 30 years of leadership in the fi elds of healthcare management and design, respectively, Blair Sadler and Annette Ridenour have tackled an important task in documenting the value of the arts to healthcare organizations. Sadler, a senior fellow at the Institute for Health Improvement and a faculty member in the University of California San Diego Schools of Medicine and Management, served as president and chief executive offi cer of Rady Children's Hospital for 26 years. During his tenure, he collaborated extensively with Ridenour, president of Aesthetics, Inc., and a long-time leader of the arts in healthcare, to develop evidence-based healing environments and arts programming at Rady Children's Hospital. Th eir collaborations also resulted in the establishment of the Blair Sadler International Healing Arts Competition to recognize exemplary healthcare arts initiatives. Part II of the book includes 36 award-winning entries to this competition.Transforming the Healthcare Experience Th rough the Arts features three well-organized sections that provide readers with a foundation for understanding the context of the arts in healthcare, diverse best practices, and a roadmap for establishing arts programs in healthcare. In Part I, the authors make a case for the value of the arts in healthcare by addressing industry-wide challenges and goals. Th e arts are discussed in relation to their positive impact on four important current trends in healthcare: (1) the mandatory collection and reporting of patient satisfaction information; (2) the healthcare quality/safety revolution; (3) the growing infl uence of evidence-based design; and (4) the increasing impact of the Baby Boom generation. …