Using art to improve health outcomes

In the United States, you won’t find many doctors sending patients to choir practice or insurance companies covering painting class. But in the United Kingdom, the National Health Service’s Arts on Prescription connects patients to cultural activities that match their interests — and funds their participation.

Researchers there have linked community arts and cultural engagement with better mental health and overall well-being, lower risk of depression and fewer childhood adjustment problems. That led UF’s EpiArts Lab, a National Endowment for the Arts Research Lab, to look for similar correlations in the U.S.

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Pictured above: At the Creating Healthy Communities Convening, participants including UF College of the Arts Dean Onye Ozuzu, center, gathered to envision the future of social prescribing. Photo by Austin Queen.