Arts and Health by Leah Goldstein Moses

I belong to a listserv called Healthcare Information For All by 2015 (to join, send an email). Many of the topics are about medical practices. Recently a string of posts addressed the role of drama and music in health. As I read the posts, I realized that there are many roles that the arts are playing in health:

• The role most frequently cited on the listserv is education – that through drama and music you can teach and inform public health practices, such as encouraging hand washing or the use of mosquito nets.
• Another role is emotional well-being – that by participating in or observing the arts, people’s spirits are lifted and their health improved.
• A third role, not mentioned on the listserv, is expanding understanding – that the arts help people model and understand the factors that keep us healthy or put our health at risk; this can range from basic concepts about DNA to much more complex drawing and modeling.

One thing is clear: while some people might consider themselves artistic, and others work extensively in health, the number of people who feel very competent in both fields is rather small. One way to bring the two together is through relationships, as with those built by the Society for Arts in Healthcare through its regional networks. In the months ahead, we’ll be writing about our evaluation with the Society. Where have you seen the arts inform health, or vice versa?