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This review explores the relationship between engagement with the creative arts and health outcomes, specifically the health effects of music engagement, visual arts therapy, movement-based creative expression, and expressive writing. Although there is evidence that art-based interventions are effective in reducing adverse physiological and psychological outcomes, the extent to which these interventions enhance health status is largely unknown. Our hope is to establish a foundation for continued investigation into this subject and to generate further interest in researching the complexities of engagement with the arts and health. (Am J Public Health. 2010;100:254-263. doi:10.2105/AJPH. 2008.156497)
There are many more things, between heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio.
-Shakespeare, Hamlet
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines holistic health as:
viewing man in his totality within a wide ecological spectrum, and . . . emphasizing the view that ill health or disease is brought about by an imbalance, or disequilibrium, of man in his total ecological system and not only by the causative agent and pathogenic evolution.1(p13)
This important perspective is echoed in the organization's 1946 preamble, wherein health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being rather than merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Implied in this definition is the tie to health outcomes or changes in health as a result of an action; in the present case, the connection between artistic engagement and the psychosocial and biological manifestations of that connection. More specifically, there is evidence that engagement with artistic activities, either as an observer of the creative efforts of others or as an initiator of one's own creative efforts, can enhance one's moods, emotions, and other psychological states as well as have a salient impact on important physiological parameters.2
Chronic diseases are a nationwide burden, with cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of death during the past century and the incidence of diabetes continuing to increase, now affecting more than 20 million Americans.3,4 These diseases are associated with psychosocial difficulties such as depression5 and chronic stress, contributing to negative cardiovascular outcomes.6,7 Engagement with creative activities has the potential to contribute toward reducing stress and depression and can serve as a vehicle for alleviating the burden of chronic disease.
Over the past decade, health psychologists...