Using the arts: learning from a community consultation on health and wellbeing

Abstract

Local service commissioners require information about a community's needs in order to make spending decisions with limited funds. Gaining the knowledge required can be problematic. This paper presents the findings from an innovative project which harnessed the arts in order to facilitate expression of a community's health and wellbeing needs. The project in the form of an arts-based community consultation, was developed in partnership by a range of agencies and organisations engaged with a particular community. A qualitative evaluation study was devised to capture the process of delivering the community consultation. The findings demonstrated that an effectively managed arts-based creative consultation process, can be a powerful mechanism for establishing a community's perspective on their health and wellbeing. Key points Arts-based activities can be an effective vehicle to generate community consultation. Facilitating a community to offer their views can provide commissioners of health and social care services greater insight into local needs. Arts-based activities can not only provide insight but offer added value in terms of strengthening both the community's identity and resilience.

Art Therapy with the Extent of Health Promotion

“…Birth, death, marriage, harvest or crop ceremonies and religious, spiritual and physical healing rituals were performed with artistic activities. Ancient people made art a part of their lives by singing, dancing, drumming, drawing, or telling stories [10,11]. In a general manner, art has an important contribution to human health.…”

“…Art therapy is a treatment method used in many spiritual, developmental, neurological, mental, and behavioral disorders. Many art therapists agree that the creative process has a healing power itself [8][9][10][11]. For example, a Cochrane review looked at the impact of dance/movement therapy on psychological and physical outcomes in people with cancer.…”