Arts participation has been linked to positive health outcomes around the globe. As more research... more Arts participation has been linked to positive health outcomes around the globe. As more research is taking place on this topic, there is heightened need for definitions for the complex concepts involved. While significant work to define “arts participation” has taken place in the arts sector, less work has been undertaken for the purpose of researching the arts in public health. This study developed a definition for “arts participation” to guide a national arts in public health research agenda and to advance and make more inclusive previous work to define the term. A convergent mixed-methods study design with sequential elements was used to iteratively develop a definition that integrated the perspectives of field experts as well as the general public. Literature review was followed by four iterative phases of data collection, analysis, and integration, and a proposed definition was iteratively revised at each stage. The final definition includes modes, or ways, in which people eng...
The significance of mental health inequities globally is illustrated by higher rates of anxiety a... more The significance of mental health inequities globally is illustrated by higher rates of anxiety and depression amongst racial and ethnic minority populations as well as individuals of lower socioeconomic status. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated these pre-existing mental health inequities. With rising mental health concerns, arts engagement offers an accessible, equitable opportunity to combat mental health inequities and impact upstream determinants of health. As the field of public health continues to shift its focus toward social ecological strategies, the social ecological model of health offers an approach that prioritizes social and structural determinants of health. To capture the impacts of arts engagement, this paper creates an applied social ecological model of health while aiming to advocate that engaging in the arts is a protective and rehabilitative behavior for mental health.
ImportanceThere is growing evidence for the health benefits associated with social, cultural, and... more ImportanceThere is growing evidence for the health benefits associated with social, cultural, and community engagement (SCCE), including for supporting healthy behaviors. However, health care utilization is an important health behavior that has not been investigated in association with SCCE.ObjectiveTo examine the associations between SCCE and health care utilization.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis population-based cohort study used data from the 2008 to 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a longitudinal panel study using a nationally representative sample of the US population aged 50 years and older. Participants were eligible if they reported SCCE and health care utilization in the relevant HRS waves. Data were analyzed from July to September 2022.ExposuresSCCE was measured with a 15-item Social Engagement scale (including community, cognitive, creative, or physical activities) at baseline (frequency) and longitudinally over 4 years (no, consistent, increase...
Objectives: There is evidence to suggest that leisure engagement may influence self-perceptions o... more Objectives: There is evidence to suggest that leisure engagement may influence self-perceptions of ageing, but disentangling potential bidirectionality in this relationship is challenging. A better understanding of the directionality of this association is essential for designing more effective interventions to promote healthy aging. We therefore tested both lagged and concurrent effects in both directions both for a composite measure of leisure engagement as well as specific domains of community, cognitive, creative, and physical activities.Method: A total of 17,753 adults aged 50 or above living in the United States from the Health and Retirement Study were included in the analysis. They provided 32,703 observations over three waves between 2008/2010 and 2016/2018. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling with both concurrent and lagged associations between self-perceptions of aging and leisure engagement, controlling for confounders including age, gender, ethnicity,...
Leisure engagement has potential to slow decline in older age and limit increasing healthcare cos... more Leisure engagement has potential to slow decline in older age and limit increasing healthcare costs as the number of older adults increases, but the potential benefits of different domains of leisure activities on aging experiences remains unclear. We included 8,893 older adults (mean age=63.18) from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative study of individuals over the age of 50 in the US. Comparing four domains of leisure engagement (physical, creative, cognitive, and community activities), physical activity was most consistently associated with experiences of aging. It was related to more positive aging experiences concurrently in all seven domains (daily functioning, physical fitness, long-term physical health problems, heart health, weight, sleep, subjective perceptions of health) and was beneficially associated with all but one (heart health) of these domains eight years later. Engagement in creative activities was also positively related to experiences of ...
Background: There is increasing interest in the potential benefits of referring older adults to e... more Background: There is increasing interest in the potential benefits of referring older adults to engage in community-based arts activities to enhance health. The arts have been found to have wide-ranging benefits for older adults including being associated with an increased lifespan. However, it remains unclear whether they are additionally associated with an increase in the portion of people’s lives for which they remain healthy ('healthspan’).Methods: We included 1,269 older adults who completed the 2014 Arts and Culture Supplement of the Health and Retirement Study and were alive in 2016 and 2018. We measured the number of participatory arts activities engaged in (e.g., reading, crafts, dancing) and the frequency of receptive arts engagement (e.g., going to a gallery or performance) in the past year. Healthy aging was a binary outcome, conceptualized using a previously validated definition of no major chronic diseases, no cognitive impairment, good physical functioning, and go...
Engaging in the arts is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. ... more Engaging in the arts is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. While it is generally accepted that there is a social gradient in arts participation, previous studies of arts engagement in the US have not used comprehensive measures of engagement and often focus on single demographic or socioeconomic predictors of engagement rather than simultaneously testing a range of factors that may be related to one another. Using cross-sectional data from the General Social Survey (GSS) in the US, we examined which demographic, socioeconomic, residential, and health factors were associated with attendance at arts events, participation in arts activities, and membership of creative groups. We combined data from 1993 to 2016 in three analytical samples with a sample size of 8,684 for arts events, 4,372 for arts activities, and 4,268 for creative groups. Data were analysed using logistic regression. More education was associated with increased levels of all types ...
Arts and humanities have central roles to play to transform the culture of care, wellbeing, and h... more Arts and humanities have central roles to play to transform the culture of care, wellbeing, and health. How we educate health care professionals and artists is shifting in response to global pressures, and a rapidly accelerating tech-fueled world. This chapter explores the intersections of arts, health, technology, education, and society.
Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996065 for An Integrative Review of Arts-Ba... more Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996065 for An Integrative Review of Arts-Based Strategies for Addressing Pain and Substance Use Disorder During the Opioid Crisis by Jill Sonke, Lourdes Rodr�guez, Melissa A. Valerio-Shewmaker, Julie A. Leis and Colleen I. Morrison in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996066 for Leveraging Arts for Justice, Eq... more Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996066 for Leveraging Arts for Justice, Equity, and Public Health: The Skywatchers Program and Its Implications for Community-Based Health Promotion Practice and Research by Rabbi Nancy E. Epstein, Anne Bluethenthal, Deirdre Visser, Clara Pinsky and Meredith Minkler in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental material, sj-docx-3-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996405 for Designing a Graphic Novel: Enga... more Supplemental material, sj-docx-3-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996405 for Designing a Graphic Novel: Engaging Community, Arts, and Culture Into Public Health Initiatives by Sarah Febres-Cordero, Athena D. F. Sherman, Joseph Karg, Ursula Kelly, Lisa M. Thompson and Kylie Smith in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental material, sj-docx-4-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996405 for Designing a Graphic Novel: Enga... more Supplemental material, sj-docx-4-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996405 for Designing a Graphic Novel: Engaging Community, Arts, and Culture Into Public Health Initiatives by Sarah Febres-Cordero, Athena D. F. Sherman, Joseph Karg, Ursula Kelly, Lisa M. Thompson and Kylie Smith in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996405 for Designing a Graphic Novel: Enga... more Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996405 for Designing a Graphic Novel: Engaging Community, Arts, and Culture Into Public Health Initiatives by Sarah Febres-Cordero, Athena D. F. Sherman, Joseph Karg, Ursula Kelly, Lisa M. Thompson and Kylie Smith in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996369 for Addressing Inequity Through Pub... more Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996369 for Addressing Inequity Through Public Health, Community Development, Arts, and Culture: Confluence of Fields and the Opportunity to Reframe, Retool, and Repair by Maria Rosario Jackson in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996350 for Systematic Review of Arts-Based... more Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996350 for Systematic Review of Arts-Based Interventions to Address Suicide Prevention and Survivorship in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America by Jill Sonke, Kelley Sams, Jane Morgan-Daniel, Andres Pumariega, Faryal Mallick, Virginia Pesata and Nicola Olsen in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-4-ahp-10.1177_0890117120931710 for Health Communication and the Art... more Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-4-ahp-10.1177_0890117120931710 for Health Communication and the Arts in the United States: A Scoping Review by Jill Sonke, Kelley Sams, Jane Morgan-Daniel, Nancy Schaefer, Virginia Pesata, Tasha Golden and Heather Stuckey in American Journal of Health Promotion
Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-3-ahp-10.1177_0890117120931710 for Health Communication and the Art... more Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-3-ahp-10.1177_0890117120931710 for Health Communication and the Arts in the United States: A Scoping Review by Jill Sonke, Kelley Sams, Jane Morgan-Daniel, Nancy Schaefer, Virginia Pesata, Tasha Golden and Heather Stuckey in American Journal of Health Promotion
Arts engagement is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. While... more Arts engagement is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. While the COVID-19 pandemic provided new opportunities for some people to engage in the arts, it might have created barriers for others. We aimed to examine whether there was social patterning in home-based arts engagement during the pandemic in the United States (US), and whether predictors of engagement differed according to the type of arts activity. We included 4,731 adults who participated in the US COVID-19 Social Study between April and July 2020. Three types of home-based arts engagement were considered: reading for pleasure, arts or crafts activities, and digital arts activities. Using logistic regression models, we tested cross-sectional associations between a broad range of demographic, socioeconomic, psychosocial, and health-related factors as well as adverse events and worries during lockdown and each type of arts engagement. The factors most strongly associated with all three ty...
ObjectivesReceptive cultural engagement (e.g., attending theaters and museums) can reduce depress... more ObjectivesReceptive cultural engagement (e.g., attending theaters and museums) can reduce depression in older adults. However, whether specific participatory leisure activities are associated with lower rates of depression remains unknown. We aimed to test whether engagement in a diverse range of leisure activities, all of which could involve artistic or creative elements, was associated with concurrent and subsequent depression.MethodsUsing longitudinal data from 19,134 participants aged over 50 in the Health and Retirement Study, engagement in leisure activities was measured every four years, and depression every two years, between 2008 and 2016. Leisure activities included: reading books, magazines, or newspapers; writing; baking/cooking something special; making clothes, knitting, or embroidery (sewing); working on hobbies/projects; going to sport, social, or other clubs; and attending non-religious organization meetings. A score of three or more on the Center for Epidemiologic ...
Arts participation has been linked to positive health outcomes around the globe. As more research... more Arts participation has been linked to positive health outcomes around the globe. As more research is taking place on this topic, there is heightened need for definitions for the complex concepts involved. While significant work to define “arts participation” has taken place in the arts sector, less work has been undertaken for the purpose of researching the arts in public health. This study developed a definition for “arts participation” to guide a national arts in public health research agenda and to advance and make more inclusive previous work to define the term. A convergent mixed-methods study design with sequential elements was used to iteratively develop a definition that integrated the perspectives of field experts as well as the general public. Literature review was followed by four iterative phases of data collection, analysis, and integration, and a proposed definition was iteratively revised at each stage. The final definition includes modes, or ways, in which people eng...
The significance of mental health inequities globally is illustrated by higher rates of anxiety a... more The significance of mental health inequities globally is illustrated by higher rates of anxiety and depression amongst racial and ethnic minority populations as well as individuals of lower socioeconomic status. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated these pre-existing mental health inequities. With rising mental health concerns, arts engagement offers an accessible, equitable opportunity to combat mental health inequities and impact upstream determinants of health. As the field of public health continues to shift its focus toward social ecological strategies, the social ecological model of health offers an approach that prioritizes social and structural determinants of health. To capture the impacts of arts engagement, this paper creates an applied social ecological model of health while aiming to advocate that engaging in the arts is a protective and rehabilitative behavior for mental health.
ImportanceThere is growing evidence for the health benefits associated with social, cultural, and... more ImportanceThere is growing evidence for the health benefits associated with social, cultural, and community engagement (SCCE), including for supporting healthy behaviors. However, health care utilization is an important health behavior that has not been investigated in association with SCCE.ObjectiveTo examine the associations between SCCE and health care utilization.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis population-based cohort study used data from the 2008 to 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a longitudinal panel study using a nationally representative sample of the US population aged 50 years and older. Participants were eligible if they reported SCCE and health care utilization in the relevant HRS waves. Data were analyzed from July to September 2022.ExposuresSCCE was measured with a 15-item Social Engagement scale (including community, cognitive, creative, or physical activities) at baseline (frequency) and longitudinally over 4 years (no, consistent, increase...
Objectives: There is evidence to suggest that leisure engagement may influence self-perceptions o... more Objectives: There is evidence to suggest that leisure engagement may influence self-perceptions of ageing, but disentangling potential bidirectionality in this relationship is challenging. A better understanding of the directionality of this association is essential for designing more effective interventions to promote healthy aging. We therefore tested both lagged and concurrent effects in both directions both for a composite measure of leisure engagement as well as specific domains of community, cognitive, creative, and physical activities.Method: A total of 17,753 adults aged 50 or above living in the United States from the Health and Retirement Study were included in the analysis. They provided 32,703 observations over three waves between 2008/2010 and 2016/2018. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling with both concurrent and lagged associations between self-perceptions of aging and leisure engagement, controlling for confounders including age, gender, ethnicity,...
Leisure engagement has potential to slow decline in older age and limit increasing healthcare cos... more Leisure engagement has potential to slow decline in older age and limit increasing healthcare costs as the number of older adults increases, but the potential benefits of different domains of leisure activities on aging experiences remains unclear. We included 8,893 older adults (mean age=63.18) from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative study of individuals over the age of 50 in the US. Comparing four domains of leisure engagement (physical, creative, cognitive, and community activities), physical activity was most consistently associated with experiences of aging. It was related to more positive aging experiences concurrently in all seven domains (daily functioning, physical fitness, long-term physical health problems, heart health, weight, sleep, subjective perceptions of health) and was beneficially associated with all but one (heart health) of these domains eight years later. Engagement in creative activities was also positively related to experiences of ...
Background: There is increasing interest in the potential benefits of referring older adults to e... more Background: There is increasing interest in the potential benefits of referring older adults to engage in community-based arts activities to enhance health. The arts have been found to have wide-ranging benefits for older adults including being associated with an increased lifespan. However, it remains unclear whether they are additionally associated with an increase in the portion of people’s lives for which they remain healthy ('healthspan’).Methods: We included 1,269 older adults who completed the 2014 Arts and Culture Supplement of the Health and Retirement Study and were alive in 2016 and 2018. We measured the number of participatory arts activities engaged in (e.g., reading, crafts, dancing) and the frequency of receptive arts engagement (e.g., going to a gallery or performance) in the past year. Healthy aging was a binary outcome, conceptualized using a previously validated definition of no major chronic diseases, no cognitive impairment, good physical functioning, and go...
Engaging in the arts is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. ... more Engaging in the arts is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. While it is generally accepted that there is a social gradient in arts participation, previous studies of arts engagement in the US have not used comprehensive measures of engagement and often focus on single demographic or socioeconomic predictors of engagement rather than simultaneously testing a range of factors that may be related to one another. Using cross-sectional data from the General Social Survey (GSS) in the US, we examined which demographic, socioeconomic, residential, and health factors were associated with attendance at arts events, participation in arts activities, and membership of creative groups. We combined data from 1993 to 2016 in three analytical samples with a sample size of 8,684 for arts events, 4,372 for arts activities, and 4,268 for creative groups. Data were analysed using logistic regression. More education was associated with increased levels of all types ...
Arts and humanities have central roles to play to transform the culture of care, wellbeing, and h... more Arts and humanities have central roles to play to transform the culture of care, wellbeing, and health. How we educate health care professionals and artists is shifting in response to global pressures, and a rapidly accelerating tech-fueled world. This chapter explores the intersections of arts, health, technology, education, and society.
Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996065 for An Integrative Review of Arts-Ba... more Supplemental material, sj-pdf-2-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996065 for An Integrative Review of Arts-Based Strategies for Addressing Pain and Substance Use Disorder During the Opioid Crisis by Jill Sonke, Lourdes Rodr�guez, Melissa A. Valerio-Shewmaker, Julie A. Leis and Colleen I. Morrison in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996066 for Leveraging Arts for Justice, Eq... more Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996066 for Leveraging Arts for Justice, Equity, and Public Health: The Skywatchers Program and Its Implications for Community-Based Health Promotion Practice and Research by Rabbi Nancy E. Epstein, Anne Bluethenthal, Deirdre Visser, Clara Pinsky and Meredith Minkler in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental material, sj-docx-3-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996405 for Designing a Graphic Novel: Enga... more Supplemental material, sj-docx-3-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996405 for Designing a Graphic Novel: Engaging Community, Arts, and Culture Into Public Health Initiatives by Sarah Febres-Cordero, Athena D. F. Sherman, Joseph Karg, Ursula Kelly, Lisa M. Thompson and Kylie Smith in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental material, sj-docx-4-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996405 for Designing a Graphic Novel: Enga... more Supplemental material, sj-docx-4-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996405 for Designing a Graphic Novel: Engaging Community, Arts, and Culture Into Public Health Initiatives by Sarah Febres-Cordero, Athena D. F. Sherman, Joseph Karg, Ursula Kelly, Lisa M. Thompson and Kylie Smith in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996405 for Designing a Graphic Novel: Enga... more Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996405 for Designing a Graphic Novel: Engaging Community, Arts, and Culture Into Public Health Initiatives by Sarah Febres-Cordero, Athena D. F. Sherman, Joseph Karg, Ursula Kelly, Lisa M. Thompson and Kylie Smith in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996369 for Addressing Inequity Through Pub... more Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996369 for Addressing Inequity Through Public Health, Community Development, Arts, and Culture: Confluence of Fields and the Opportunity to Reframe, Retool, and Repair by Maria Rosario Jackson in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996350 for Systematic Review of Arts-Based... more Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hpp-10.1177_1524839921996350 for Systematic Review of Arts-Based Interventions to Address Suicide Prevention and Survivorship in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America by Jill Sonke, Kelley Sams, Jane Morgan-Daniel, Andres Pumariega, Faryal Mallick, Virginia Pesata and Nicola Olsen in Health Promotion Practice
Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-4-ahp-10.1177_0890117120931710 for Health Communication and the Art... more Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-4-ahp-10.1177_0890117120931710 for Health Communication and the Arts in the United States: A Scoping Review by Jill Sonke, Kelley Sams, Jane Morgan-Daniel, Nancy Schaefer, Virginia Pesata, Tasha Golden and Heather Stuckey in American Journal of Health Promotion
Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-3-ahp-10.1177_0890117120931710 for Health Communication and the Art... more Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-3-ahp-10.1177_0890117120931710 for Health Communication and the Arts in the United States: A Scoping Review by Jill Sonke, Kelley Sams, Jane Morgan-Daniel, Nancy Schaefer, Virginia Pesata, Tasha Golden and Heather Stuckey in American Journal of Health Promotion
Arts engagement is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. While... more Arts engagement is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. While the COVID-19 pandemic provided new opportunities for some people to engage in the arts, it might have created barriers for others. We aimed to examine whether there was social patterning in home-based arts engagement during the pandemic in the United States (US), and whether predictors of engagement differed according to the type of arts activity. We included 4,731 adults who participated in the US COVID-19 Social Study between April and July 2020. Three types of home-based arts engagement were considered: reading for pleasure, arts or crafts activities, and digital arts activities. Using logistic regression models, we tested cross-sectional associations between a broad range of demographic, socioeconomic, psychosocial, and health-related factors as well as adverse events and worries during lockdown and each type of arts engagement. The factors most strongly associated with all three ty...
ObjectivesReceptive cultural engagement (e.g., attending theaters and museums) can reduce depress... more ObjectivesReceptive cultural engagement (e.g., attending theaters and museums) can reduce depression in older adults. However, whether specific participatory leisure activities are associated with lower rates of depression remains unknown. We aimed to test whether engagement in a diverse range of leisure activities, all of which could involve artistic or creative elements, was associated with concurrent and subsequent depression.MethodsUsing longitudinal data from 19,134 participants aged over 50 in the Health and Retirement Study, engagement in leisure activities was measured every four years, and depression every two years, between 2008 and 2016. Leisure activities included: reading books, magazines, or newspapers; writing; baking/cooking something special; making clothes, knitting, or embroidery (sewing); working on hobbies/projects; going to sport, social, or other clubs; and attending non-religious organization meetings. A score of three or more on the Center for Epidemiologic ...
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