On Wednesday 19 July 2017, a new report detailing the benefits of arts and culture on health and wellbeing was published by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing

The Inquiry Report, Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing, a 99-page document, presents the findings of two years of research, investigation and discussions with patients, health and social care professionals, artists and arts administrators, academics, representatives in local government, ministers, other policy-makers, and parliamentarians from both Houses of Parliament.

Three key principles are presented in this report:

• The arts can help keep us well, aid our recovery from illness, and support longer lives better lived.
• The arts can help meet major challenges facing health and social care: ageing, long-term conditions, loneliness and mental health.
• The arts can help save money in health services and social care.

The report draws the conclusion that the arts can be enlisted to assist in addressing a number of difficult and pressing policy challenges in the field of healthcare.

Those who would like to read a brief report on the findings can consult the 16-page summary. This document includes the Key Messages, Recommendations, and Next Steps sections from the full report

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health, and Wellbeing (APPGAHW) was formed in 2014 and aims to improve awareness of the benefits that the arts can bring to wellness. During 2015–17, the APPGAHW conducted an inquiry into the effects of the arts on health and social care, with the aim of making recommendations to improve policy and practices.

To consult the full report online, please click here

To read the summary, please click here

Content produced in partnership with Cineuropa