The Center for Arts in Medicine partnered with the UF Emergency Ebola Responce Team in 2014-15 to explore the application of the arts in the response to the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Research conducted in 2014-15 at the University of Florida suggested that communities in the Ebola-affected regions of West Africa could be empowered through social learning and structured use of the arts to rapidly disseminate critical health messages to stop the spread of the virus. Based on studies conducted by the Center for Arts in Medicine, including a comprehensive systematic review of literature focused on use of the arts in public health and research conducted in Uganda in 2014, we are developing an evidence-based framework for using the arts in health messaging campaigns that can be applied to rapid response to future disease outbreaks. We believe that these tools will significantly enhance coordination and effectiveness in the rapidly growing use of the arts for rapid and widespread health messaging.

See below for resources and studies focussed on the use of the arts in the Ebola response published by the Center for Arts in Medicine.

Arts and Ebola Concept Brief

Arts and Ebola Artist and Arts Initiatives Repository

Article in BMJ by Jill Sonke and Ginger Pesata: The arts and health messaging: Exploring the evidence and lessons from the 2014 Ebola outbreak