The Arts in Healthcare

By Scott Hatfield

Last updated on: November 22, 2010 | Posted on: November 16, 2010

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Healthcare is connecting people with the power of the arts and their therapeutic effects. Painting a canvas with bright primary colors or listening to music while under medical treatment has a notable positive impact on patient outcomes.

The benefits are many, but art therapy is impacting physical, mental and emotional recovery, including relieving anxiety and decreasing the perception of pain. On the other side, research promoted by the Society for the Arts in Healthcare out of Washington, D.C. shows that the arts can reduce patients' use of medication and length of stay in the hospital, and improve compliance with recommended treatments-offering substantial savings in healthcare costs.

"There is something about art that is transcendent," says Jane Golden, director of the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia. "There is something about this process of creating and engaging that lifts up the individual."

The Mural Arts Program features health-themed murals and recognizes their benefit for communities by engaging people in arts programs. Watch our video that highlights the therapeutic activity of painting for the mural "Personal Renaissance" that connects people in recovery with the healing power of art. Find the video story here.

In another project, the Mural Arts Program features the faces of nurses in "The Evolving Face of Nursing" mural that incorporates lights to reflect nurses' evolution in the profession. At night, LED lights change color and transform the faces on the wall as they appear to glow. See the photo gallery which shows the mural by day and night and listen to remarks on its significance in the profession by Chief Executive Officer of the National Nursing Centers Consortium Tine Hansen-Turton in an audio clip by clicking here.

Music is also transforming patients. A New York-based program called "Musicians on Call" brings the healing power of music to the patients' bedsides. Musicians and patients think music provides comfort during hospital stays.

"There are people that totally believe in the fact that there is a power to this music," says Helen Leicht, WXPN mid-day host, who helps organize the program in the Philadelphia metro area.

We follow musicians as they perform for patients at Lourdes Health System in Camden, NJ, in this video story here.

Scott Hatfield is multimedia editor of advanceweb.com. He can be reached at shatfield@advanceweb.com.

Videos Archives

Was there a Recreation Therapist involved in this project? This is a great article describing and supporting what RT programs have been doing for years in their treatment approaches and goals. Many professions use creative activities as a theapeutic tool to inspire motivation and positive change, but RT's have used the arts for years to improve physicial, social, and emotional health and recovery as thier primary intervention.

Jan Samson, LMSW, CTRS, VA Medical/Atlanta	December 02, 2010
GA

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