Bridging Arts and Public Health: A New Framework for Collaboration

By Tasha L. Golden

Imagine a doctor prescribing a music class to manage chronic pain, or a public health campaign using theater to address mental health stigma. These scenarios are increasingly common as the links among arts, culture, and public health expand. At the same time, in conversations with public health professionals over the years, I've encountered a paradox: While there's clear interest in art's potential to enhance public health, many struggle to translate that interest into action. The sheer breadth of “arts and culture” makes it challenging to get concrete and specific about its applications to health goals. The public health and arts sectors have both needed structure and direction to guide more cross-sector action and innovation.

The “Evidence-Based Framework for the Use of Arts and Culture in Public Health” is our response to this need for structure and direction. By synthesizing findings from a comprehensive mixed-methods investigation, we created a framework that draws concrete connections between creative practices and health outcomes.

This Framework identifies six broad ways in which arts support public health; think of these as “buckets” of influence. Within these “buckets” are 59 specific health outcomes, all addressable through arts/culture strategies. The framework also identifies seven key mechanisms of action: the “how” or “why” of art’s impacts.

While all six of the Framework’s “buckets” of influence are ripe for exploration in public health, two stand out for their immediate relevance to common challenges. First, arts and culture can create safe, inclusive, and engaging environments. This not only suggests a way to improve existing health interventions (e.g., by boosting their relevance and engagement), but it also offers an intervention in itself. Community-based arts programs have been shown to foster social connection, reduce stigma, and support dialogue around mental health. These capacities are crucial as we grapple with increasing rates of mental health concerns, isolation, and loneliness.

Second, arts/culture can strengthen health communication. Research indicates that arts-based strategies can convey complex health information in accessible, memorable, and culturally relevant ways, while helping address disparities in information access. Creative messages and arts-based platforms tap into the ways in which humans have evolved to process and share information—which has always required more than straightforward conversation and didactic training.

These quick examples highlight art’s ability to help address persistent public health challenges. By integrating arts/culture resources into public health practice, and by tapping into the emotional and cultural resonance of creative expression, we can bolster the effectiveness of our health interventions—and generate new solutions.

To guide more collaborative, arts-health strategies, the Framework offers an initial common language, evidence base, and point of reference. For instance, a public health practitioner addressing mental health stigma can use the framework to consider relevant arts/culture approaches and their potential impacts. Similarly, an arts organization can leverage the Framework to articulate how their programs contribute to specific health outcomes.

Notably, although the Framework provides a structure by mapping out mechanisms and outcomes, it isn’t prescriptive. It’s designed to facilitate ideation and collaboration, and to inform new interventions and evaluations. In addition, because the Framework points to specific outcomes and references, it can be used to support funding applications, policy development, and research questions and designs—paving the way for innovative, evidence-based health initiatives.

This publication is new, but the Framework has lived online for some time, and I and my co-authors have been glad to see it supporting research and practice. Now, with the full study available, the Framework will support more health collaborations, while providing a foundation for further dialogue and research—including new studies on the mechanisms by which arts impact health.

We encourage public health professionals to explore arts/culture resources, using them to help tackle our increasingly complex public health challenges. And we invite artists and arts organizations to further consider how their work might address health outcomes. Our collective goals warrant all the tools and assets we can bring to the table, and arts and culture are rich, available resources. Their integration with public health offers a powerful way to engage communities, enhance communication, and promote wellbeing. By bridging these sectors, we can create increasingly effective, whole-person approaches to public health that resonate deeply with the communities we serve.

Article details

An Evidence-Based Framework for the Use of Arts and Culture in Public Health
Tasha L. Golden, Jill Sonke & Alexandra K. Rodriguez
DOI: 10.1177/15248399241228831
First Published: February 19th, 2024
Health Promotion Practice

About the Author

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Tasha Golden, PhD is a singer/songwriter turned behavioral scientist, and a leading expert in Creativity and Wellbeing. She speaks and consults globally on creativity, leadership, wellbeing, and change. Dr. Golden was the first Director of Research for the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; she is also adjunct faculty for the University of Florida’s Center for Arts in Medicine, and lead author of “Arts on Prescription: A Field Guide for US Communities.”

Named one of 2024’s “Fierce 50” by Fierce Pharma for her innovative work in health and healthcare, Dr. Golden has published extensively on intersections of creativity, behavior, and wellbeing. She now helps clients and audiences apply the science to advance innovation, connection, and growth.

Golden’s work is shaped by her early experiences as a career artist and entrepreneur. As singer-songwriter for the critically acclaimed band Ellery, she toured internationally, with songs in TV and film (ABC, SHOWTIME, FOX, NETFLIX, etc). But when severe burnout and depression ended her music career, she began raising questions about mental health, creativity, and wellbeing that led to her PhD, ongoing research, and global work as a speaker and consultant.

Golden is a published poet (Humanist Press), founder of Project Uncaged: a trauma-informed creative writing program for incarcerated girls, and developer of “How We Human”: a training in Mental Health and Trauma-Informed Practice designed for creatives. She has spoken for SXSW, the US Conference of Mayors, POLITICO, and CogX, among many others, and is a frequent guest on top podcasts related to business, self-improvement, wellbeing, and the arts.

Leveraging her research and background, Golden helps clients and audiences raise their own new questions—linking science and creative practice to grow their work.