Good Arts Good Mental Health

In collaboration with multi-sector partners, this project aims to create an evidence based, arts-mental health campaign, dose-response message, programs, and provide multi-sector professional development to positively impact community arts engagement and mental wellbeing.

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Downloadable resources

Why is this project important?

• To improve the mental wellbeing of Australians by communicating the value of the arts as a health promotion strategy
• To build strategic and long-lasting cross sector collaboration
• To optimise understanding of the arts-mental health relationship 

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Art and Health Research Publications

Overall, there is good evidence of an arts-mental wellbeing relationship. Below are free links to arts and health research that may be of interest to you.

• The Art of Being Mentally Healthy – This paper quantifies the arts/mental wellbeing relationship. We found that 2hrs/week of arts engagement (e.g. listening to music, reading, dancing, singing, painting, attending a concert, performance, art class etc) is associated with mental wellbeing for adults in the general population. This paper is also cited in Revive, Australia’s National Cultural Policy.
• Arts and Health Glossary – This paper provides a summary of arts-health definitions for use in policy, programs, practice and every day life.
• Arts-Health Promotion Systematic Review – This systematic review was written for the Sax Institute and VicHealth. The review provides a summary and evidence rating (strong/weak) of arts and health publications.
• The Art of Being Healthy – This paper describes the arts-health relationship in terms of seven outcomes - mental health, social health, physical health, economic, knowledge, art and identity outcomes.
• The Art of Aging Well – This paper describes the relationship between recreational arts engagement, general health and mental wellbeing in cohort of 2,843 Australian older adults.
• Arts, Public Health and the National Arts and Health Framework – This paper provides a summary of arts health concepts. 
• Music for Wellness in rehabilitation patients – This paper showcases a low-cost, non-pharmacological hospital music programme that successfully supported patient well-being in a rehabilitation setting.

Project Partners