Health Communication and the Arts in the United States of America: A Scoping Review

Objective. Guided by the hypothesis that the arts can play a role in changing attitudes, beliefs and health behaviors, the objectives of the study were to: 1) overview artistic practices, interventions, and research being conducted at the intersection of the arts and health communication; and 2) identify desired and observed outcomes and variables measured in these studies. 

Data Source. The search strategy was developed iteratively with two health science librarians and conducted using eight databases (Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Art and Architecture Source, CINAHL, Communication and Mass Media Complete, ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science) and hand searching. Articles included were published between 2014 and 2018. 

Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria. Inclusion criteria: U.S non-clinical setting; use of the arts (broadly defined) to change health knowledge, beliefs, behaviors or awareness. Any articles not meeting inclusion criteria were excluded. Data Extraction: Covidence’s data extraction tool exported to MS Excel. 

Data Synthesis​. This final set of results was analyzed and synthesized by research design, population, sample size, health issue, purpose, variables measured, and findings. Results: 78 articles met the inclusion criteria. The number of participants ranged from 4 to 2,140 (mean=179). 61 (78.2%) outcomes studies, including 8 experimental studies. 17 (21.79%) formative research or reports. Many different health topics were addressed and different art forms used. 

Conclusion. The arts can help build knowledge and awareness of health issues. The authors highlight the need to build an evidence base for arts and public health.

Primary Investigator: Jill Sonke

Co-Authors:

• Kelley Sams, University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine
• Jane Morgan-Daniel, University of Florida Health Science Center Libraries
• Nancy Schaefer, University of Florida Health Science Center Libraries
• Virginia Pesata, University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine, pesata@ufl.edu
• Tasha Golden, UF Center for Arts in Medicine; International Arts + Mind Lab, Johns Hopkins University
• Heather Stuckey, Pennsylvania State University

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Article Citation: Sonke, J., Sams, K., Morgan-Daniel, J., Schaefer, N., Pesata, V., Golden, T., & Stuckey, H. (2020). Health Communication and the Arts in the United States: A Scoping Review. American Journal of Health Promotion, 0890117120931710.

Funding Source: ArtPlace America

Photo Credit: 100 Stone Project