(Commonwealth)__In international dialogue about health and well-being, the arts have long been regarded as something special, but not necessarily a key tool. There’s growing evidence to suggest that creativity is at the heart of human flourishing and that it’s also an impetus for health gains and youth leadership development among those who have the capacity to create community futures.
The arts and health interface is revolutionizing young people. Naturally, arts enhance the aesthetics of healthcare environments, but arts also offer profound emotional connection, resilience, and self-expression. Arts offer fresh ways of tackling some of the most intractable issues of centuries, including rising levels of anxiety, depression, isolation, and disparities in youth wellbeing.
Globally and in the Commonwealth, growing momentum requires the participation of young people in fresh pathways to achieving health. Dance, music, drama, and visual arts are increasingly being seen as having a critical part to play in well-being and being able to promote mental health, sustain social relationships, and empower individuals to be active participants in recovery.
Global findings over recent years all verify quantifiable benefits for young people engaged in arts activities. They improved mental well-being, reduced anxiety levels, and enhanced a sense of belonging. Many individuals have experienced enhanced control over long-term illnesses and reduced feelings of loneliness. The evidence illustrates the value of creative activity in transforming disease and health issues in individuals and communities.
A series of case studies demonstrate the impact of arts-integrated health interventions. In Britain, an ‘Arts on Prescription’ initiative offers young patients creative experiences like pottery, music-making, and storytelling. An eight-week follow-up reveals greater satisfaction with life, symptom reduction in depression, and higher activity in community life.
Barbados also integrates community arts projects with public health initiatives that focus on music, words, and traditional dance. These projects serve as a means of disease prevention for non-communicable diseases and mental health issues, while also providing youth with positive access to other individuals in their own community. And everything illustrates how the arts do not cure illness in and of themselves—instead, they create settings in which children may grow up and help bring about others’ health and wellness.
Although policymakers are becoming more aware, participation in arts programs within healthcare remains low. Public health practice and policy must integrate creativity as a normal part of normal practice, not an intervention that people practice above and beyond everything else. Optimal implementation of the arts within healthcare enables increased cultural responsiveness and holistic consideration of well-being that is healthier for the individual and society.
Interventions aimed at institutionalizing this integration are gradually gaining momentum. Initiatives such as the Young Leaders for Arts and Health Summit, organized with the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship and Commonwealth Leadership Institute, are the launchpad for youth to share best practices and champion arts-informed interventions for healthcare. These platforms revolve around engaging young leaders toward spearheading system change and positioning creativity at the forefront of health promotion.
In various settings, youth are creating art as more than a pastime. Creativity is a lifeline and one that is paying off for individuals with growing confidence, trauma resolution, resistance to loneliness, and having their voices heard. Shared healthcare amplifies these effects, leading to quantifiable outcomes in mental, emotional, and social well-being.
Integrating the arts into health policy and practice equips individuals to build healthier and more sustainable societies. Arts like music, dance, storytelling, and visual arts are acting as agents of change, engaging young people and equipping them to lead, innovate, and enact sustainable change. The promise of arts-led health development across the Commonwealth represents a new era in which art and health are not distinct, and the new leaders at the forefront are constructing healthier, more integrated definitions of well-being.
