There is growing interest internationally in the contributions which the creative arts can make to wellbeing and health in both healthcare and community settings. A timely addition to the field, the Oxford Textbook of Creative Arts, Health, and Wellbeing is the first work of its kind to discuss the role the creative arts have in addressing some of the most pressing public health challenges faced today. Providing an evidence-base and recommendations for a wide audience, this is an essential resource for anyone involved with this increasingly important component of public health practice. The textbook offers key insights for developing new creative arts-based approaches to health and wellbeing, and shows how these can augment established practices within a variety of social settings. Theoretically grounded and with a strong evidence base, this book brings together contributions from both practitioners and researches to provide a comprehensive account of the field. Using international examples, the textbook elucidates the various approaches that have successfully led to improvements in public health, whilst case studies in healthcare practices evaluate the impact of arts-based initiatives in a multitude of international settings, life-course stages, and social milieus. The Oxford Textbook of Creative Arts, Health, and Wellbeing is a comprehensive resource that will be essential to anyone with an interest in this increasingly important component of public health practice.

This book brings together leading UK researchers in the field of arts and health, including creative arts therapies. The chapters are based on presentations originally given at a UK seminar series on scholarship and research on connections between the creative arts, health and wellbeing, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. It will be of interest to anyone practising or researching arts and health, in both hospitals and community settings. Because of the nature of the work, the volume is cross-disciplinary in theory and multi-disciplinary in practice. As such, it will appeal to a cross-section of practitioners and thinkers. Research in the field of arts, health and wellbeing has developed considerably in recent years, and in the dialogue of this book some of the big questions for the agenda are addressed.

This important book develops a critical understanding of the bridging of arts and health domains, drawing on models and perspectives from social sciences to develop the case for arts and health as a social movement. This interdisciplinary perspective offers a new research agenda that can help to inform future developments and sustainability in arts, health and well-being. Daykin begins with an overview of the current evidence base and a review of current challenges for research, policy and practice. Later chapters explore the international field of health and the arts; arts, with well-being as a social movement; and boundary work and the role of boundary objects in the field. The book also includes sections summarising research findings and evidence in arts and health research and examples from specific research projects conducted by the author, chosen to highlight particularly widespread challenges across many arts, health and well-being contexts. Arts, Health and Well-Being: A Critical Perspective on Research, Policy and Practice is valuable reading for students in sociology, psychology, social work, nursing, psychiatry, creative and performing arts, public health and policymakers and practitioners in these fields.

Arts in Health: Designing and Researching Interventions provides a complete overview of how to go about undertaking research and practice in the field of arts in health. It starts by exploring the context for arts in health interventions, including the history of the use of arts in health and the theoretical and political developments that have laid the foundations for its flourishing. It also considers what 'arts in health' encompasses and the range of disciplines involved. The book will be valuable for researchers, practitioners, healthcare professionals and those interested in learning more about the field.

This book explores the power music has to address health inequalities and the social determinants of health and wellbeing. It examines music participation as a determinant of wellbeing and as a transformative tool to impact on wider social, cultural and environmental conditions. Uniquely, in this volume health and wellbeing outcomes are conceptualised on a continuum, with potential effects identified in relation to individual participants, their communities but also society at large. While arts therapy approaches have a clear place in the text, the emphasis is on music making outside of clinical contexts and the broader roles musicians, music facilitators and educators can play in enhancing wellbeing in a range of settings beyond the therapy room. This innovative edited collection will be of great interest to scholars and practitioners of music, social services, medical humanities, education and the broader health field in the social and medical sciences.

Principles and Practice of Health Promotion and Public Health brings together the disciplines and fields of study that inform the work of promoting health into one book and provides many examples of practice. It starts with understanding ourselves and our health and continues with chapters on working in health promotion and public health; epidemiology; research methods and evidence-based practice; health psychology; communicating health; health education; health promotion; public health; health protection; arts and health; tackling tobacco, alcohol and drugs; tackling overweight; promoting health in workplaces and promoting health within the National Health Service. Together these communicate the core principles of how to prevent disease and promote health when working with individuals, communities and populations in any country across the world. The book focusses on adults’ health and includes international and UK examples. Principles and Practice of Health Promotion and Public Health complements Priorities for Health Promotion and Public Health, published in 2021. Both are core texts for those studying health promotion or public health and supplementary texts for students of healthcare and social care. They are ideal for public health practitioners and members of the wider public health workforce.

Object-Based Learning and Well-Being provides the first explicit analysis of the combined learning and well-being benefits of working with material culture and curated collections. Following on from the widely acclaimed Engaging the Senses, this volume explicitly explores the connection between the value of material culture for both learning and well-being. Bringing together experts and practitioners from eight countries on four continents, the book analyses the significance of curated collections for structured cultural interventions that may bring both educational and well-being benefits. Topics covered include the role of material culture in relation to mental health; sensory impairments; and general student and teacher well-being. Contributors also consider how collections can be employed to positively address questions of identity and belonging relating to marginalisation, colonialism and forced displacement. Object-Based Learning and Well-Being should be a key first point of reference for academics and students who are engaged in the study of object-based learning, museums, heritage, health and well-being. The book will be of particular interest to practitioners working in higher education, or those working in the cultural, heritage, museums and health sectors.

Creative Arts Therapy Careers is a collection of essays written by and interviews with registered drama therapists, dance/movement therapists, music therapists, art therapists, poetry therapists, and expressive arts therapists. The book sheds light on the fascinating yet little-known field of the creative arts therapies – psychotherapy approaches which allow clients to use creativity and artistic expression to explore their lives, solve their problems, make meaning, and heal from their traumas. Featuring stories of educators in each of the six fields and at different stages of their career, it outlines the steps one needs to take in order to find training in one of the creative arts therapies and explores the healing aspects of the arts, where creative arts therapists work, who they work with, and how they use the arts in therapy. Contributors to this book provide a wealth of practical information, including ways to find opportunities to work with at-risk populations in order to gain experience with the arts as healing tools; choosing the right graduate school for further study; the difference between registration, certification, and licensure; and the differences between a career in a medical, mental health, educational, correctional, or service institution. This book illuminates creative arts therapy career possibilities for undergraduate and graduate students studying acting, directing, playwriting, creative writing, visual arts, theatre design, dance, and music. It is also an excellent resource for instructors offering a course to prepare arts students of all kinds for the professional world.

The Routledge Companion to Interdisciplinary Studies in Singing, Volume III: Wellbeing explores the connections between singing and health, promoting the power of singing—in public policy and in practice—in confronting health challenges across the lifespan. These chapters shape an interdisciplinary research agenda that advances singing’s theoretical, empirical, and applied contributions, providing methodologies that reflect individual and cultural diversities. Contributors assess the current state of knowledge and present opportunities for discovery in three parts: Singing and Health Singing and Cultural Understanding Singing and Intergenerational Understanding In 2009, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada funded a seven-year major collaborative research initiative known as Advancing Interdisciplinary Research in Singing (AIRS). Together, global researchers from a broad range of disciplines addressed three challenging questions: How does singing develop in every human being? How should singing be taught and used to teach? How does singing impact wellbeing? Across three volumes, The Routledge Companion to Interdisciplinary Studies in Singing consolidates the findings of each of these three questions, defining the current state of theory and research in the field. Volume III: Wellbeing focuses on this third question and the health benefits of singing, singing praises for its effects on wellbeing.

Music is an essential tool in dementia care. This accessible guide embraces ways in which music can enhance the daily lives of those with dementia. It draws on the expertise of practitioners regularly working in dementia settings, as well as incorporating research on people with dementia, to help anyone, whether or not they have any musical skills or experience, to successfully use music in dementia care. Guiding the reader through accessible activities with singing, percussion, sounding bowls and other musical tools, the book shows how music may can be used from the early to late stages of dementia. This creative outlet can extend to inspire dance, movement, poetry and imagery. The chapters include creative uses of technology, such as tablets and personal playlists. The book also covers general considerations for using music with people living with dementia in institutional settings, including evaluating and recording outcomes. Living Well with Dementia through Music is the perfect go-to guide for music-based activities with people living with dementia.