Arts and Health

Health and Well-Being

The arts’ benefits for health and well-being are experienced at all stages of life and on multiple levels. Americans today are united in seeking a more expansive range of treatments and therapies to address various healthcare needs. To improve these options, the NEA is committed to grantmaking, strategic initiatives, and research supporting the arts and health.

• Research shows that from early childhood through adolescence and youth, arts education can help students better cope with their feelings, bounce back from adversity, and show tolerance and compassion for others.
• In various studies of older adults, arts participation has been linked to positive health outcomes such as reduced rates of cognitive decline and improved mood, communications, and flexibility among patients with Alzheimer’s disease or other neurodegenerative disorders.
• Arts and health programs such as those including creative arts therapies (e.g., art therapy, music therapy, and dance/movement therapy) help to address specific physical and mental health conditions, and enhance the quality of life for patients and their caregivers. The NEA has partnered on studies of creative arts therapies in pediatric cancer care settings, and among  military and veteran populations experiencing post-traumatic stress, mild traumatic brain injury, and related psychological illnesses.

Research

The NEA has produced in-depth reports and analysis on research topics related to arts and health, including:

• Arts Strategies for Addressing the Opioid Crisis: Examining the Evidence—This report reviews and analyzes 20 years of evidence about the arts’ use in pain management and in treatment of substance abuse disorders; it also highlights promising arts-based strategies in these practice areas.
• Staying Engaged: Health Patterns of Older Americans Who Participate in the Arts—Central to this report is an examination of the health characteristics (cognitive ability, physical function, and hypertension rates) among adults who created art, who attended arts events, or who did both or did neither.
• The Arts and Aging - Building the Science— In September 2012, the NEA and National Institutes of Health sponsored a National Academies workshop titled "Research Gaps and Opportunities for Exploring the Relationship of the Arts to Health and Well-Being in Older Adults." This report includes a summary of the proceedings as well as observations and recommendations on how to strengthen the quality of such research.
• The National Endowment for the Arts Guide to Community-Engaged Research in the Arts and Health—This report advises arts practitioners and biomedical or behavioral health researchers how to partner effectively in documenting and studying the contributions of community-based arts programs to positive health outcomes.
• The Arts in Early Childhood: Social and Emotional Benefits of Arts Participation—This report is a literature review and gap-analysis of recent research about the arts’ relationship to social-emotional benefits in early childhood. 
   

Grantmaking

NEA Research Labs: Investigating the Impact of the Arts
Examples include:

• Established through a collaboration with the NEA, the EpiArts Lab at the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine is working with epidemiological scientists to analyze and report the impacts of arts and cultural engagement on population health outcomes in the U.S..
• NEA funding to the University of Southern California has enabled researchers to examine the effects of music engagement through choir training on hearing, communication, and psychosocial well-being of individuals with or at risk for Alzheimer's disease, and their caregivers.
• The NEA and the University of Colorado Denver partnered to create the Colorado Resiliency Lab (CORAL), which investigates the role of the creative arts in improving the psychological wellness of healthcare professionals.

Initiatives

Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network
An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, Creative Forces seeks to improve the health, well-being, and quality of life for military and veteran populations exposed to trauma, as well as their families and caregivers. 

Creative Forces has three areas of work—clinical, community, and capacity. At military medical and Veterans Health Administration facilities, Creative Forces is placing creative arts therapies—art, music, and dance/movement therapies—at the core of patient-centered care, including telehealth delivery of care for patients in rural and remote areas. Creative Forces Community Engagement Grants support community-based arts programming to address the distinct experiences, challenges, and strengths of military-connected populations through the arts. In addition, Creative Forces is investing in research on the impacts and benefits—physical, social, and emotional—of these innovative treatment methods as well as the development of toolkits, training materials, and other resources to support best practices in serving the target populations.

Visit the Creative Forces National Resource Center to learn more and to read all research associated with Creative Forces.

Sound Health Network
The Sound Health Network (SHN) was established to promote research and public awareness about the impact of music on health and wellness. The network engages with a broad range of multidisciplinary stakeholders—including scientists, music therapists, clinicians, patients, music and arts organizations, funders, and the general public. Through its coordinating role, the SHN facilitates individual and collaborative efforts that promote the quality, quantity, and relevance of research at the intersections of music, neuroscience, health, and wellness across the lifespan, advancing the potential of music to improve all our lives. SHN is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts with the University of California, San Francisco.

A series of short videos from this initiative explore topics at the intersections of music, science, and health, including “Can Music Improve Mobility?” and “Can Music Reduce Anxiety?”

Stories

Addressing Substance Use Disorder with the Arts
A look at how Indy Arts Council is combatting substance abuse with the help of the arts.

Healing, Bridging, Thriving: A Reflection from the Arts and Health Caucus 
Drs. Nisha Sajnani, Jill Sonke, and Lisa Wong ponder the potential that the arts have in clinical and public health in the United States.

"Arts and Health: The Role of the Arts Sector in Promoting Resilience and Well-Being" (American Artscape Issue No. 2 2023)

A Soldier’s Artful Life: A Conversation with SPC Ryan P. DeWolfe 
Here's the story of how music therapy helped SPC Ryan P. DeWolfe heal from a Traumatic Brain Injury and continue his career in the army.

At the Intersection of Arts and Public Health: Ask the Question Engages the Arts in Suicide Prevention
Ask the Question is an Oregon-based public health and art initiative that explores the topic of suicide—and how creative expression can play a role in stopping such tragedies before they start.

Sarah Whalen-Lunn on the Healing Power of Indigenous Tattooing
Traditional tattoo artist Sarah Whalen-Lunn talks about her journey to learning indigenous tattooing and its importance to the cultural health of her community.

Podcast with Dr. Nina Kraus
Music on the brain: Dr Nina Kraus explores the science of sound

Additional Resources

NEA staff have also served in an advisory capacity on the following resources and opportunities:

“The NeuroArts Blueprint: Advancing the Science of Arts, Health, and Wellbeing,” an initiative of Johns Hopkins University’s International Arts + Mind Lab and the Aspen Institute

The Fundamental Role of Arts and Humanities in Medical Education (FRAHME), an initiative of the Association of American Medical Colleges

Press release: CDC Foundation Supports Arts and Cultural Organizations to Build Confidence in COVID-19 and Seasonal Influenza Vaccines

Engaging the Arts to Build Vaccine Confidence—This report outlines the impact of a collaboration among the NEA, CDC, and CDC Foundation to support organizations using the arts and culture to educate local communities about vaccine safety and efficacy. 

Music on Our Minds: The Rich Potential of Music to Promote Brain Health and Mental Well-Being, a report from the Global Council on Brain Health, a collaborative from AARP.

The NEA is a federal partner on the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health.