Arts and health

The arts are increasingly being used in the delivery of Government agendas such as social inclusion, education and health. Art and good design in hospitals and participation in arts activities can improve patients' attitudes to treatment and their sense of well-being, and reduce the need for medication. In community health, the arts are often used preventatively to improve awareness and understanding of health issues. Art therapy is used to treat various health problems and, in the acute sector, the arts have been shown to hasten recovery.

In 2002, the NCA took a delegation to meet the Arts Minister, Baroness Blackstone, to discuss the arts and health. The delegation arose out of the increasing contact and partnership between the NCA and those active in this field, whose work, the NCA believed, was not receiving necessary strategic and financial support. In 2005, the NCA responded to a Strategic Review of the Department of Health's role in Arts and Health, calling for a national policy on this.

Arts and Health consultation 2005

NCA delegation 2002

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