Posted on July 7, 2003

Arts and Culture

"The arts and medicine: These are two human callings that belong together, and our challenge is to rediscover the ways in which they can most effectively be brought together again," said Dana Gioia, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, at a symposium recently hosted by the NEA and the Society for the Arts in Healthcare that featured experts from the fields of medicine, the arts, the social services, media, business, and the public sector. Research shows that the arts can help patients relax, socialize, find solace, and/or express their emotions, while rejuvenating caregivers who must contend with issues such as depression, fatigue, and burnout. The report on the symposium (20 pages, PDF) outlines several goals for the arts-in-healthcare movement, including raising awareness of its benefits, improving documentation and dissemination of related research, and offering arts training to healthcare workers and administrators.