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BackgroundMethodsResultsDiscussionConclusionsThis paper considers weaknesses in a study by Cohen et al. (2006) on the impacts of community singing on health. These include high demand characteristics, lack of attention to attrition, flawed statistical analysis, and measurement. Nevertheless, the study is uncritically cited, in evidence reviews, with findings taken at face value.Google Scholar, SCOPUS and BASE citation functions for Cohen et al. identified 32 evidence reviews in peer-reviewed journals. Eleven of these reviews, published between 2010 and 2023, focused on creative arts interventions.We demonstrate limitations in the Cohen et al. research which undermine the conclusions they reach regarding the health benefits of group singing. Subsequent evidence reviews take the findings at face value and offer little critical commentary.We consider what is needed to improve evidence reviews in the field of creative arts and health research.A more robust approach is needed in reviewing research evidence in the field of arts and health. The Cohen et al. paper is not suitable for inclusion in future evidence reviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The drive towards living well with dementia has resulted in a growing recognition of the value of community-based participatory arts activities. This review aimed to explore their overall impact and holistic benefits for people with early to moderate stages of dementia. Using a scoping review methodology and thematic analysis, this review explored relevant literature published between 2008 and 2019. 26 published papers were identified, comprising visual arts, literary arts, comedy, music and dance. The key themes included person-centred, in-the-moment approaches; participation and communication; attention and cognition; social cohesion and relationships; and the role of space, place and objects. There is strong evidence in support of using participatory arts for dementia, regardless of art form. In-the-moment and person-centred approaches were deemed impactful. Further research is needed to explore the importance of setting, material culture and the methodological or theoretical perspectives in participatory arts and dementia research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

: People with dementia are often excluded from research due to ethical concerns and a reliance upon conventional research methods which focus on recall and verbal expression. Creative, sensory and embodied research methods typically involve techniques that conceptually bring individuals "into" the research, thus affording an expressive capacity that traditional methods do not. This paper details a "method story", presenting three interlinked cycles of study used to explore the significance of clothing to people with dementia living in a care home. The studies drew upon arts-based and design led practices. This paper details the methods used and the opportunities that they presented when exploring the lived experience of dementia. Creative, sensory and embodied approaches enabled people with dementia to engage with research, supporting imaginative, spontaneous and flexible participation. This supports the use of novel methods when undertaking research with people who have dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Method Results Conclusions To synthesise qualitative research exploring the care-giving experiences of parents of young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and complex healthcare needs, in the transition to adulthood years.Four databases were systematically searched: Scopus, WoS Core Collection, Medline and SciELO. Included papers were assessed for quality and thematically synthesised. Findings are presented in the form of free-verse poems.Nineteen papers from eight countries were included. Analysis generated three themes: interdependency of parent and child, where parents retained responsibility for their child’s care; apprehension regarding sharing and shifting responsibility between parents and professionals; an uncertain future in terms of care provision.Parents are concerned about the future care of their children. Training professionals in alternative and effective communication is fundamental to successful transition. Encouraging discussions about advanced care planning may also alleviate parental concerns and ensure good outcomes for young people with PMLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper synthesises findings from two research projects with organisations involved in arts for youth well-being. Since 2017, Aotearoa New Zealand's government has recognised the importance of the arts for well-being. However, the sector in Aotearoa has historically lacked recognition and support and this paper identifies a number of challenges that remain entrenched in the funding system. Study One used an online survey to understand the approaches, aspirations and challenges of 19 organisations involved in youth arts for well-being. Study Two used ethnographic methods with three youth arts organisations to explore their experiences of the funding and policy context. Specific aspects of the funding system in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland, hinder the sustainable development of creatively rich, culturally responsive, inclusive and strengths-based practice that takes youth participation seriously. New approaches to resourcing youth arts for well-being are needed to better support good practice and sector development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper explores the mental health and wellbeing outcomes of a massed community choir program in Australia. Methods: This study employed a mixed methods approach. Data were collected via a survey of choir participants (N = 305), four qualitative interviews and focus groups with facilitators and participants (N = 22), and two workshops with organising staff (N = 5). Questions were derived from a co-designed program logic, and data were triangulated and analysed thematically. Results: Participants reported feeling a sense of connectedness (psychological), but also experiencing connection (social) with their fellow singers. Psychological outcomes included the sensations of affect, arousal, and affirmation. Social outcomes included experiencing belonging, inclusion, and sharing. These positive psycho- social experiences promoted positive mental health and wellbeing outcomes in the large group of participating singers. Conclusions: This paper addresses gaps in our understanding about the mental health and wellbeing outcomes fostered by community choirs at scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There has been agrowing interest in using artistic interventions as a method of developinginterpersonal competence. This paper presents a meta-analysis evaluating the impact of theatre interventions on social competencies. Methods: Twenty-one primary studies totaling 4064 participants were included, presenting evidence available since 1983. Included studies were assessed in terms of quality, heterogeneity, and publication bias. Results: Our findings indicated that active theatre participation significantly improved participants' empathic abilities, social communication, tolerance, and social interactions, with the largest pooled effect size for social communication (0.698) and the smallest for tolerance (0.156). Our findings did not corroborate the impact of theatre on self-concept. Conclusions: This paper shows that theatre interventions have a positive impact on social competencies. The paper makes a methodological contribution by showing that randomized and non-randomized studies yielded comparably valid results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundMethodsResultsConclusionsThis project is part of a four-year intercultural collaboration between Indian and Australian stakeholders studying to use of music therapy (MT)-informed activity in community-based rehabilitation (CBR) with disabled children and their families in rural Maharashtra. This paper presents a qualitative study of caregiver perspectives.Interviews with four participating caregivers were thematically analysed, with an emphasis on participant voices. The combined thematic analysis of the four interviews revealed shared five themes.Data analysis revealed caregivers’ perception that music in CBR supported existing CBR goals. Furthermore, caregivers reported that music in CBR enhanced motivation and participation for children and families and fostered community connection. Importantly, caregivers noted that music made CBR fun and was a pre-existing resource.Findings were congruent with research with other stakeholders in the intercultural collaboration. Caregiver perspectives offer new insight into the priorities of families in CBR, which has wider relevance arts and health workers in community-based practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper draws on a longitudinal ethnographic study of music-making with "post-verbal" people: those with stroke, learning difficulties, acquired brain injury, dementias or autism. Methods: Using embedded observation, arts workshops, interviews with families and carers and focus groups with Music Leaders, the project traced how inclusive music-making happens with "post-verbal" people. It used post-human theory to illuminate and explore processes and benefits. Results: This paper fuses the practical and theoretical aspects of making music with post-verbal people, to understand both how it happens, and, what it signifies. It shows how post-verbal people use music to communicate and demonstrate their capacities, and analyses how those working with them use music to foster a sense of inclusion and belonging. Conclusions: By writing in collaboration across academia and community music practice the paper makes new and important contributions to both post-human thinking and capacities in learning, arts and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a framework for studying the potential of museum-led interventions for supporting stroke rehabilitation goals. The intervention was based on Kirvevold et al.'s model for interventions for post-stroke wellbeing. Mixed-methods data wqas collected to review benefits in a pilot study, including retrospective video observations for six sessions with four patients; interviews with patients, carers and facilitators; pre-post patient assessments; and facilitator diaries. Systematic analysis of videos showed high levels of concentration and engagement with museum objects, low levels of social interaction, and positive or neutral mood throughout. Thematic qualitative analysis suggested patients felt engaged in meaningful activities, which lifted negative mood, provided positive distraction from the ward, and increased self-esteem, including belief in patient abilities. Further research is needed to fully establish the potential of museum-led interventions for stroke rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a mental health-awareness audio tour of the National Gallery, London, and evaluates the development and implementation of the tour. This smartphone-based audio tour was co-produced by Gallery staff, young people with lived experience of mental health issues, academics, and technologists. Interviews (N = 22) were conducted with developers and data-collectors (who had gathered feedback from Gallery visitors who undertook the tour) with responses analysed thematically. Participants highlighted the value of the arts to raise awareness about mental health, and the importance of teamwork, lived experience, and co-production, but also raised the challenges of integrating low-budget projects into large-scale venues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper draws on a longitudinal study exploring the outcomes of an arts referral programme in General Practice in the South West of England since 2009. It focuses on the qualitative responses of the patient cohort Methods: Using qualitative methods and thematic analysis, this paper explores and considers the responses from n = 1297 participants who provided feedback from an open-ended questionnaire on self-reported benefits of the arts referral programme. Results: Participant reactions demonstrate that the programme provided a range of personal and social benefits rarely considered or explored in comparative studies. The analysis suggests participants were able to self-manage aspects of their health-related conditions, and were able to make progress towards a better physical and/or mental health. Conclusions: The evidence suggests that arts-based referral programmes, have a range of benefits for participants that may not have been fully appreciated. The consequences on self-management requires further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundMethodsResultsConclusionThe present paper aimed to study handgrip strength (HGS) asymmetry and its association with hypertension in a sample of Kathak dancers and non-dancers of North India.Data on HGS and blood pressure were collected from 206 Kathak dancers and 235 age-matched controls, using standardized protocols. Pearson correlation coefficients assessed the association between HGS and hypertension, and binary logistic regression identified the risk of developing hypertension.HGS asymmetry was higher among non-dancers. In Kathak dancers, systolic blood pressure (SBP) was positively correlated with HGS and negatively correlated with HGS asymmetry whereas diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was negatively correlated with both HGS and HGS asymmetry. Dancers with high HGS, have significantly reduced risk of developing hypertension. Non-dancers with HGS asymmetry were 1.8 times more likely to report hypertension, relative to dancers.Kathak may be used as an alternative method for maintaining HGS symmetry and reducing the risk of developing hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundMethodsFindingConclusionsIn Malawi, well-meaning HIV and AIDS interventions imagined in the “Global North” continue to ignore how local people construct the world. This paper explores how folk media can be used to enable research on HIV and AIDS to be positioned within localised cultural paradigms.Drawing on Chewa epistemology, I used folk media methods supported by participant observation. The research was conducted in three phases over 15 days in two rural communities and captured the workshop processes, participants’ process reviews, verbal journals and creative outputs through pictures, audio and video recordings, field notes and reflections. Data was analysed thematically.Folk media can be used to structure research, to facilitate a conducive environment for research practice, as data and as a method for the generation of data/knowledge.Folk media can be a strong, replicable, culturally grounded, decolonizing research methodology that promotes collaboration and the deconstruction of power relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A qualitative systematic review was undertaken to identify the therapeutic impact of arts-based activities as experienced by adults sexually abused in childhood. Sixteen studies, identified through a systematic search protocol , were included in a thematic synthesis. Quality of studies was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool. Arts-based activities were identified as offering a safe space, in which to find a voice, to engage in self-exploration, and to communicate experience and connect with others where a new sense of self and empowerment could emerge. Creative activities can play a significant role in the unique paths to recovery that sexual abuse survivors develop. Limitations to the review derive from the small number of papers, methodological weaknesses of the studies and the variation in focus. More research is needed into impact of specific media, and barriers and enablers to using creative activities as a resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the environmental, interpersonal, and personal outcomes of music performance in a hospital oncology setting. An original, qualitative research study examined the impact of live music for staff, patients, and carers. Data were collected using a multi-method approach of observations and semi-structured interviews and were analysed using inductive and theory-driven theming that was shaped by a determinants of health framework. The research found that live music promoted stronger relationships and calmer environments, among other environmental, social and individual outcomes. Improved communication between staff through the creation of a more supportive environment was a pertinent finding of the research. No negative effects were reported. We discuss research findings in the context of relevant literature and suggest recommendations for future hospital-based live music programs. Results of this study indicate that live music interventions impacted individual, interpersonal, social and environment factors that led to health and wellbeing outcomes for participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundMethodsResultsConclusionThis paper explores the opportunities that creative, nature-based activities offer for mobilising social connections via community-centred approaches to improve individual and collective wellbeing.The study involved ethnographic methods and data was gathered from a nature for wellbeing project implemented in a rural village in North East England.The findings indicate creative, nature-based activities delivered within an environment marked by an ethic of care and kindness enabled the project to engage with participants at individual and collective levels simultaneously, which enhanced the project’s ability to mobilise community skills and assets, and affect connectedness, equity and control within social groups facing significant disadvantages.Creative, nature-based activities, delivered with an ethic of care, present an opportunity to recognise and engage complex and, at times, opposing undercurrents inherent in social connections between individuals and social groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research uses the arts-based research method of found poetry, the creation of poem-like prose from existing text, to share the lived experience of the 2009 Black Saturday bushfire disaster in Australia which killed 173 people. After outlining the processes, this paper applies found poetry to an existing text: Peg Fraser’s book, Black Saturday. Five found poems are shared, each conveying a different element of the disaster experience: “Armageddon,” “Go – GET OUT,” “Bushfire Chook,” “Resisting the Poetry Tree,” and “Lucky”. Compared to normal prose, there is an authentic and vulnerable vibrancy to the language of these found poems, which offer unexpected visceral insight into the bushfire experience – the fear, the heat, the confusion, the anger, and the loss. Poetry, which resonates and draws people in emotionally, has significant potential as arts-based knowledge translation in disaster risk and climate change communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details findings from a project on the potential for arts activities and art therapy to support the mental health and wellbeing of children living in Kashmir. The intervention engaged 30 school children over the course of one year who produced various forms of artwork and performances. In this paper, we report on project impacts, drawing on some of our qualitative measures including observations and interviews. Our research details impacts and improvements in areas of emotional expression, belonging, and agency. We also found an important role for schools to create safe, secure, and caring spaces to allow students to express themselves and work through traumatic feelings in a non-judgemental way. School-based arts interventions can play an important role in the mental health and wellbeing of children. Critical here, however, are dedicated space, time, and resources to provide a supportive environment and to sustain activity in long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:The creative process potentially complements the ABI condition. Given the potential of art to empower people with impaired cognitive capacity and communication skills, it was hypothesized that art therapy techniques could be used to ascertain the perspective of adults with ABI surrounding their housing and support preferences. Method:Visual research methods informed the research protocol reported in this paper. Participants’ pictures were created mainly using pastels on paper. Eight people (3 adults with ABI; 4 non-family paid carers; 1 researcher as participant observer) participated in this pilot study. Qualitative rigour was achieved by addressing the four principles of trustworthiness. Results:By analysing participants’ creative works in their entirety (i.e. image, text, and visual storytelling), key attributes of the ideal home or environment for adults with ABI were identified. The piloted arts-based process was also reflected upon. Conclusions:Art processes may give voice to people with limited capacity to verbalize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Methods Results Conclusions Long-term care homes for older and disabled adults, including those who are living with dementia, facilitate a diversity of recreational activities and program as social interventions. The relationships between interventional elements and participant impacts are not well understood.This paper explores a poetry methodology and reports the findings from a pilot test of Dementia Arts Mapping, a novel ethnographic observational technique, to better understand impacts of poetry and recreation on people living with dementia in long-term care settings. Between 2017 and 2020, at 17 skilled nursing facilities throughout Wisconsin, researchers situated within care homes observed participants during diverse activities.We found poetry workshops surpassed other activities in eliciting self-expression.Dementia Arts Mapping is an effective instrument for generating insights about dementia care and may be further enhanced for future use in research to inform care provision to foster meaningful engagement with people with dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In this paper, we explore the subjective experiences of a group intervention in creative writing (CW) for young adults being treated for psychosis. Method: A qualitative and exploratory design was applied. Five out of eight patients who were offered a course in CW with two-hour weekly sessions for 12 weeks took part in this study. The five participants who followed through were interviewed after project termination. Systematic text condensation was applied to the transcribed interviews. Results: The analysis revealed three overarching themes: a) the group was valued as a creative community, b) there was safety in the structured yet flexible framing of the course, c) the participants experienced creative freedom that enabled a feeling of mastery. Conclusion: CW was well conceived. The feelings of connectedness and mastery were prominent. The participants experienced growth on several levels. Our findings support previous work on arts therapy as a means to recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empathy is an important aspect of therapeutic relationships in health and social care settings. Health educators can foster empathy development in learners through creative writing activities. Drawing on the humanities, specifically poetry, this paper offers strategies for educators to support empathy development in learners, with a focus on service user poetry and associated creative writing activities. We discuss how poetry can enable alternative perspectives about care to emerge thereby challenging previously held assumptions about mental and physical states. Using poetry can enable a rehearsal of empathy by bringing experiences to the learner in a safe and facilitated environment. Through creative writing activities, we believe that students can learn to better understand and empathise with others, as well as explore their own feelings and experiences related to caregiving, to support self-care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recognition of the connection between arts, health and well-being has been growing during the recent two decades in Finland. The arts and health field has evolved from grass-roots activities to more systematic approaches of integrating arts and culture as part of social welfare and healthcare services and health promotion. :This paper provides an overview of the current state of the arts and health field in Finland, through an examination of policy developments, practice, research and education. :The arts and health field has been gaining strength and institutionalizing in Finland since the beginning of the 1990s. During the 2010s, the field has gained momentum from national policy programmes and strategical cross-sectoral collaboration on the ministerial level. The article explores also the prospects of arts and health field in Finland. Both possibilities for success and some of the challenges hindering the development of the field are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social capital is often cited as shaping impacts of participatory arts, although the concept has not been systematically mapped in arts, health and wellbeing contexts. In wider health inequalities research, complex, differential, and sometimes negative impacts of social capital have been recognised. This paper maps of social capital concepts in qualitative research as part of the UK What Works for Wellbeing evidence review programme on culture, sport and wellbeing. Studies often cite positive impacts of bonding and, to a lesser extent, bridging social capital. However, reported challenges suggest the need for a critical approach. Forms of linking social capital, such as reframing and political engagement to address social divisions, are less often cited but may be important in participatory arts and wellbeing. Future research should further specify dimensions of social capital as well as their nuanced effects in arts, and wellbeing contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Falls and related injuries in the older population are major public health issues requiring more innovative and effective solutions. This paper reports an evaluation of the Dance to Health (DtH) programme which integrates evidence-based physiotherapy falls-prevention exercises into creative dance. Methods: Sixty-seven participants took part in a mixed-methods study that combined focus group discussions and six pre/post-test questionnaires with a focus on dance interest and ability, group identity, loneliness and isolation, general health and mental health. Results: The findings show that the DtH programme can support and enhance physical, mental and social health and levels of interest in dance. The mixed data yielded evidence of positive change, with statistical significance in findings relating to group bonding and improved physical control and coordination. Conclusions: The findings support the case for recommending the Dance to Health programme in falls-prevention services in relation to its ability to promote a wide range of health and wellbeing benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper outlines and introduces the context for the Special Edition on the arts, social health and the military. The social imperative of arts work in this area is founded on current statistics of between 18% and 30% of those returning from war zones to civilian life can be expected to suffer mental health issues, which can lead to family breakdown, homelessness and other social problems. In the USA for example, there have been 103,792 cases of post-traumatic stress (PTS) diagnosed in returned service personnel (in the period from 2000 to 2012). The paper provides a brief overview of the history of PTS and the ways in which arts-based strategies have been integrated into this history. The paper discusses the contemporary context of arts and health with military personnel, arguing that considerable work has grown out of alliances with small veteran support organisations interested in finding new and complimentary approaches to supporting ex-service personnel on their transition from military to civilian life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Through an account of prevailing experiences of art and mental illness, this paper aims to raise awareness, open dialogue and create agency about art created by people with experience of mental illness.Methods:This paper draws on personal narrative and inquiry by an artist with mental illness and data collected as part of a larger participatory action research project that investigated understandings of identity, art and mental illness.Result:An inquiry through art raised awareness and attentiveness to the importance of choice in identity construction and exposed frequent dichotomies in art and mental illness that were negotiated to eschew prescribed social stratification. As an artist, the first author challenged values present in one idea and absent in the other, and the options and concessions available to authorise her own dialogue and agency of being an artist.Conclusion:Constructing an identity is an important part of being human, the labels that we choose or are chosen for us attribute to our identity. Reflections and recommendations are offered to consider expanded ways of thinking about art and mental illness and the functions that art play in identity construction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper considers how participatory arts informed by thinking in public health can play a significant part internationally in addressing inequalities in health. It looks beyond national overviews of arts and health to consider what would make for meaningful international practice, citing recent initiatives of national networks in English-speaking countries and examples of influential developments in South America and the European Union. In the context of public health thinking on inequalities and social justice, the paper posits what would make for good practice and appropriate research that impacts on policy. As the arts and health movement gathers momentum, the paper urges the arts to describe their potency in the policy-making arena in the most compelling ways to articulate their social, economic and cultural values. In the process, it identifies the reflexive consideration of participatory practice – involving people routinely marginalised from decision-making processes – as a possible avenue into this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physician and trainee burnout are becoming an epidemic within the medical community. Objective: This paper describes an innovative emergent curriculum that uses narrative medicine, creative activities, and group discussions to alleviate burnout. Methods: Between August 2016 and August 2019, 394 medical trainees participated in sessions that focused on themes relevant to promoting wellbeing, such as maintaining sensitivity to patients and finding balance. After the activities, trainees answered survey questions that related to the session theme and aided in reflection. Discussion: The student responses showed the program supported introspection that left students feeling less tired, more relaxed, and connected with one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creative outputs engage the public and can be used to share research. This paper reports on public engagement activities that were part of the research project Dementia and Imagination (D&I). We found that artwork and creative activities effectively engaged a range of audiences and challenged negative ideas about dementia. For the project team, public engagement developed relationships with collaborators and connected the research to different community settings, influencing future programmes of work. Further work could explore public engagement in diverse settings to assess which approaches are effective in maximising research value and wider community benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper examines the feasibility of utilizing an integrative contemporary dance class for improving physical function in adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Methods: Eighteen individuals participated in a 12-week dance class alongside 11 matriculated college students registered in an integrative dance course. Lower extremity strength, flexibility, mobility and balance testing was measured at pre- and post- testing. The dance class comprised 60 min of dance training two times per week. College students participated by dancing alongside the individuals in the class and assisting, if required. Results: Significant improvements were found in lower extremity strength in all muscle groups tested, hamstring flexibility, generalized mobility and stability. Conclusions: Integrative contemporary dance may provide meaningful physical improvements for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities and are in need of further development and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper explores previous research on art programming used within medical settings and program evaluations in this field. This paper will also describe a recently conducted research study evaluating the Arts For Life organization who sought out this research partnership in order to evaluate their standing with their programing goals. Methods: Collaboration between Arts For Life and Mars Hill University was established and a survey was developed in order to evaluate Arts For Life programming. Surveys were distributed and collected at the four Arts For Life stations. A total of 115 surveys were successfully completed and analyzed. Results: Resulted in positive responses supporting current Arts For Life programming. Conclusions: Arts For Life is viewed as providing a positive effect in the facilities where it is stationed. This research collaboration can likewise be used as a model for future partnerships between nonprofit organizations and undergraduate programs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: This paper reports findings from a one-year UK knowledge exchange (KE) project completed in 2015. Stakeholders’ experiences of evaluation were explored in order to develop online resources to strengthen knowledge and capacity within the arts and health sector (www.creativeandcredible.co.uk). Methods: The project used mixed methods, including a survey, interviews and focus groups, guided by a Stakeholder Reference Group comprised of 26 leading UK evaluators, researchers, artists, health professionals, commissioners and funders. Results: The project identified opportunities for arts arising from current health and social care policy agendas. It also identified challenges including the lack of agreed evaluation frameworks and difficulties in evaluation practice. Conclusions: Co-production between stakeholders is needed to strengthen evaluation practice and support the development of the arts and health sector. Effective co-production can be undermined by structural and cultural barriers as well as unequal stakeholder relationships. The paper discusses recent initiatives designed to support best practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: The Mensendieck physiotherapy programme at Oslo University College includes nude drawing as part of the curriculum. Aim: To explore how nude drawing can be used as a tool for encouraging the students to reflect on observation from different perspectives. Method: The data are based on a thematic analysis of 50 reflection papers. Findings: The students' reflections indicate that nude drawing contributes to an awareness of perceiving the body as object and subject. Their reflections also illuminate a growing consciousness of preconceptions and ethical aspects of observation as a method. Conclusion: Nude drawing seems to be an effective teaching tool. However, the relevance of the knowledge needs to be made explicit in terms of its application for the students' clinical training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian community arts and mental health is described through its 40-year history with peaks of activity coinciding with federal labor governments and the establishment of four independent health promotion agencies from the late 1980s. The paper then takes a thematic approach to discussing the development of national approaches to supporting arts and health practice, data sources, current research and evaluation and advocacy challenges. The paper concludes by suggesting that under the current federal labor government arts and health may benefit from increasing recognition of the intrinsic benefits of arts participation and cultural rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of current ethical concerns in image-based research. It considers the influence of institutional structures such as regulatory frameworks, professional guidelines and institutional review boards before focusing on issues of data collection and dissemination. The paper discusses informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality, specifically in relation to how they may differ in image-based compared to word-based research. It is suggested that a situated approach to image-based ethics is better able to take account of the concrete, everyday situations within which ethics are negotiated between researchers and research participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper explores an aspect of the process and outcomes of two children's reference groups: the ways the young members of the reference groups consider the role of the arts in research concerning wellbeing. Methods: Two case studies draw on qualitative data from the projects offering insight into child reference group work over the life of a research project: from recommendations to implementation. Results: The findings demonstrate that both reference groups enabled the research to achieve a fuller engagement with meaning making in relation to data collection by consulting with children. Conclusion: The data reveal how the members offered "insider knowledge" to the researchers concerning the role of the arts in research concerning wellbeing. Themes within the analysis about the impact of the reference group's knowledge and recommendations on the research project's data collection methods include the role of the arts connected to empathy, safety and confidentiality and in relation to difference and choice. The Research in England was supported by the LankellyChase Foundation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many arts and health studies have focused on evaluating the impact of participatory arts activities, but few have considered the processes and components shaping the wellbeing outcomes of the participants. This paper uses a relational approach to health to explore the elements at play in participatory arts. Methods: The study uses an action-research case study of a 12-week visual art programme in a nursing home with 10 participants. Data collected were analysed and interpreted using grounded theory to obtain general themes and to facilitate focused analysis. Results: The study identifies the participants, wellbeing outcomes, the environment and the quality of activities as key concerns of arts-health practice. It also reflects on the link between caring and arts-health practice to highlight several caring attributes that promote a caring arts-health practice. Conclusions: The study findings provide a practice framework that can guide decision making and action to foster a caring arts-health practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This paper reports on the learning from a 12-month interdisciplinary project (Dementia, Arts and Wellbeing Network– DA&WN) and its activities. These featured a series of four workshops on dance, visual art, theatre and music. The network was comprised of clinicians, academics, creative practitioners and people with lived experience of dementia and their carers. Methods The workshops were designed to draw out tacit knowledge about well-being in dementia through an action-based learning and research approach. This included, guided activities combined with reflective group discussions, visual documentation and baseline and follow-up questionnaires. Results Outcomes included new collaborations between group members, changes in creative practice for artists, and active and sustained involvement of people living with dementia and their carers in similar opportunities and participatory research. Conclusion This participatory and inclusive workshop model should be considered to develop and enhance interdisciplinary activities in dementia care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that participatory music programs can encourage positive health and well-being outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of participatory music programs, which aim to promote positive mental and physical health and well-being outcomes for young people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, characterized as at-risk. Method The databases EBSCOhost, ProQuest, SCOPUS, HRCA, Informit, JSTOR, SAGE and OVID were searched for literature published between 2002 and 2013. Outcomes from studies were plotted against the Shultz and Northridge's Social Determinants of Health framework (2005). Results In total, six sources were included in this review. The majority of music participation programs targeted toward young people characterized as at-risk possess positive outcomes on the Proximate and Health and Well-being levels of the SDOH framework, such as a reduction in anxiety, depression, emotional alienation, truancy and aggression. Additionally, participants in programs reported an increase in attendance in school, self-esteem, cultural empathy, confidence, personal empowerment and healthy nutrition. Conclusion Results suggest that participation in music programs is able to encourage positive mental and psychosocial health outcomes for individuals. Considering the short-term focus of programs reviewed, and limitations surrounding data analysis and collection, this paper underscores the need for rigorous research that explores the potential long-term outcomes of similar programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper draws on existing literature across the fields of community music and health promotion to map the potential for participatory music practices to support health and well-being outcomes for asylum seekers and refugees across contexts of conflict, liminality and refuge. As such, the paper provides a foundation for future empirical work in the field of music and health for asylum seekers and refugees. Methods: The paper reports on the outcomes of a "scoping" literature review of the benefits of participatory music-making across three different contexts: "conflict" settings, refugee camps and resettlement settings. Results: The scoping review provided a new synthesis of existing knowledge and empirical work on the health and well-being outcomes of participatory music for asylum seekers and refugees across contexts. In particular, the review highlighted the different roles that music can have in people's lives as they move away from home countries towards resettlement settings. Conclusions: When coupled with broader evidence from the fields of health and well-being research, growing empirical research on music and well-being for asylum seekers provides a strong foundation for both further research and investment in music (and the arts more generally) as a key positive social and cultural determinant of health for this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper responds to calls for more lived experience research with a vitalist-materialist style of analysis inspired by Deleuze and Guattari. It challenges traditional understandings of art as a therapy associated with medical and psychological perceptions of schizophrenia, which have been found to be reductive. Methods: Using Deleuze and Guattari's relational assemblages, the flows of affect are mapped as bodies and things, ideas and sensations connect and disconnect through the community arts sense-event "Schizy Jam". Results: Opening a much broader territory for understanding the many ways that art can express, affirm and communicate difference, enables exploration of new ways in which art-makers are activating changes in feeling and thinking about schizophrenia. Conclusions: Art-makers can be supported to connect with others with shared experience to find expression for things that have previously been inexpressible and create a world that is more inclusive of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We sought to develop and evaluate a prototype "tool" to help prepare children for having their blood taken, a procedure most feared by children. Methods: A user-experience design, using creative arts was utilized. Twenty-three children aged 4-12 with haematological conditions participated. Phase 1 involved children developing a blood preparatory "tool" alongside an illustrator. Phase 2 involved children trialing a paper prototype of the "tool", in the form of Blood Quest, a game designed to take children on a journey around the body learning about the blood as they go. Results: Half of all children said they felt better about having their blood taken after playing the game and half reported feeling the same. Most children found the game fun and informative. Conclusions: This small-scale pilot evaluation suggests that with further refinement, the game has the potential for young children to feel more informed and less frightened about having their blood taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality of life in long-term care is a growing concern for clinicians and social scientists. Attention is turning increasingly to the impact of the institutional environment on residents' experience of themselves and others. In an effort to improve residents' experience, distraction and illusion murals are being created to disguise exit doors and decrease exit-seeking behaviour. Most research focuses on the effect on exitseeking behaviour once murals are complete. This paper will discuss benefits for residents in terms of sustained attention and aesthetic awareness, memory and gender identity and community-building that were realized during the painting in situ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In line with recovery theories, psychosocial programmes for people diagnosed with severe mental illness (SMI) should focus more on well-being and social connectivity outcomes rather than clinical symptoms. This paper assesses the impact of creative workshops participation on the psychological well-being, social connectivity and subjective experience of people diagnosed with SMI. Method: After participating in a creative workshop in a museum, 19 people, including service users, keyworkers, the art facilitator and a psychologist were interviewed. Four observers participated in the workshop and provided information about the creative process by means of a discussion group. Data were analysed in accordance with thematic analysis methodology and triangulated in order to obtain reliability. Results: Five essential categories were identified: learning process, social connection, psychological well-being, institutional change and mutual recovery. Conclusions: Creative activities may cause a transformation of the image of dysfunction associated with mental illness as well as promoting health and recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses some key issues to consider in the development and delivery of arts-based elderly care. The purpose of this paper was to deepen the understanding of the elements affecting quality and their interplay. This is essential when developing policies and procedures for the successful use of arts and arts-based methods in elderly care. Professionals of different fields and backgrounds are using arts activities or arts-based methods with diverse aims and means in various settings in elderly care. This highlights the need for shared concepts, terminology and definitions of quality as well as a better understanding of the education and training needs of associated staff. This article suggests some tentative definitions and concepts as a basis for further discussion. It is pointed out in this paper that the quality of arts-based methods in elderly care is greatly dependent on the construction of the professional identities and competencies of those working in the field. This paper describes the different settings of arts-based work with the elderly and maps the essential competencies needed in these settings, thus providing a framework for developing quality management. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]