research
Topic: Arts and Social Development: Health and Healing
Increasingly, the arts are being integrated into a variety of healthcare settings. Across the country, arts programming is serving patients, healthcare professionals, and larger communities. In patient care, the arts are providing unique therapeutic benefits and promoting holistic treatment. Artistic outlets for health care professionals are fostering positive working conditions and opening new lines of communication. In a community setting, the arts are promoting public health, for example, by aiding in recovery after traumatic experiences or raising awareness of public health issues.
According to a survey conducted in collaboration with the Society for the Arts in Healthcare and with the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) nearly half of the healthcare institutions in the United States report having arts in healthcare programming. The majority of these programs are in hospitals, with smaller percentages reported in long-term care and hospice or palliative care organizations. The three most common types of arts programming are permanent display of art, performances in public spaces, and bedside activities
Resources:
- Arts for the Aging
Now in its third decade, Arts for the Aging is a pioneering organization that provides outreach programs specially designed to engage older adults in health improvement and life enhancement through the arts. Research shows that regular participation in programs like AFTA’s helps to minimize age-related physical and cognitive impairments, and contributes to better physical, intellectual, and emotional health. - The Society for the Arts in Healthcare (THESAH)
Arts in Healthcare is a diverse, multidisciplinary field dedicated to transforming the healthcare experience by connecting people with the power of the arts at key moments in their lives. This rapidly growing field integrates the arts, including literary, performing and visual arts and design, into a wide variety of healthcare and community settings for therapeutic, educational, and expressive purposes. - Healing and the Arts at the C. Everett Koop Institute
The Koop Institute launched the Healing and the Arts program in April 1995. Healing and the Arts explores and evaluate the potential for using the arts and humanities to build more effective doctor-patient relationships; enhance medical education; support the process of healing; and promote good health habits. - Creative Therapy Network
The Creative Therapy Network serves as a resource for all creative therapists to communicate with each other, learn new techniques, network, and search for employment. - American Art Therapy Association
The American Art Therapy Association is an organization of professionals—including credentialed art therapists, educators, and healthcare professionals—dedicated to the field of art therapy as a healing and life enhancing practice. Art therapy is a mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional health of individuals of all ages. Its mission is to serve its members and the general public by providing standards of professional competence, and developing and promoting knowledge about the field of art therapy—one of the growing the allied health professions serving millions of people worldwide.
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