Critical perspectives on art on prescription

Jensen, Anita; Bungay, Hilary; Holt, Nicola

Abstract

The positive outcomes of engaging in the arts are increasingly reported in the research literature, supporting the use of the arts to enhance individual and community health and wellbeing. However, little attention is given to the less positive aspects of arts engagement. In some countries, healthcare practitioners and link workers can refer service-users experiencing mental health issues to social interventions such as Arts on Prescription (AoP) programmes. This critical review identifies problematic issues across such social prescriptions and AoP, including failures in arts and health projects, participants’ negative experiences, and an absence of ethical guidelines for arts and health practice. Furthermore, it is evident that there is a lack of awareness and knowledge within healthcare systems, leading to inappropriate referrals, failure to take account of individual preferences, and a lack of communication between the third sector and healthcare services. Significantly, it is also unclear who holds the health responsibility for AoP participants.
This article raises more questions than it answers, but for AoP to be effectively embedded in healthcare practice, the issues highlighted need to be addressed in order to safeguard participants and support the effective implementation of programmes more widely.

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Acceptance Date: Mar 27, 2023
• Online Publication Date: May 12, 2023
• Deposit Date: Mar 27, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 13, 2023
• Journal: Perspectives in Public Health
• Print ISSN: 1757-9139
• Electronic ISSN: 1757-9147
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/17579139231170776
• Keywords: Arts on Prescription, mental health and wellbeing, social prescribing, primary healthcare, referrals
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10587089
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17579139231170776