The state of arts and health in England

Clift, Stephen, Camic, Paul M., Chapman, Brian, Clayton, Gavin, Daykin, Norma, Eades, Guy, Parkinson, Clive, Secker, Jenny, Stickley, Theo and White, Mike (2009) The state of arts and health in England. Arts & health, 1 (1). pp. 6-35. ISSN 1753-3015

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Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the current state of the arts and health field in England, through an examination of practice, research and policy developments. Five features of arts and health practice are identified: the scale of the sector, regional variations, mapping of arts and health initiatives, recent conferences and symposia, and the role of key agencies supporting arts and health initiatives. Eight areas of arts and health research activity are considered: retrospective qualitative evaluations, prospective evaluations with some quantitative assessments, experimental research on arts and health initiatives, economic evaluations of arts interventions, systematic reviews of arts and health research, theory development to underpin research efforts, and the establishment of dedicated arts and health research centres and research programmes. The final section considers three 2007 arts and health publications from the Department of Health and Arts Council England. There has been disappointment that the policy recommendations in these documents have not been acted upon. At the time of writing, however, there are some signs of renewed efforts to encourage national leadership from the Department of Health.