Feb 1, 2022
This episode features Jennifer Baxley Lee (Ulster University,
Institute of Nursing and Health Sciences Research, Northern
Ireland, UK University of Florida, Center for Arts in
Medicine, College of the Arts, Florida, USA).
An expanding body of evidence demonstrates the positive impacts of
the arts on health and well-being. No synthesis currently exists
presenting evidence on arts interventions facilitated by artists as
distinct from creative arts therapists with individuals with
life-limiting illness.
This paper presents the first systematic synthesis of the benefits,
challenges and key knowledge gaps in arts engagement delivered by
artists in palliative and end-of-life care. Findings substantiate
beneficial effects of the arts in palliative care, including:
1) a sense of well-being, 2) a newly discovered, or re-framed,
sense of self, and 3) connection with
others. Challenges associated with practice include navigating the
complexity of facilitating arts engagement with individuals with
life-limiting illness such as feelings of vulnerability, stigma,
anxiety, or fatigue provoked by arts engagement.
Recommendations for future research include: 1) consistency in
methods and reporting; 2) inclusion of wider perspectives; and 3)
key considerations for adapting the arts by health condition and
art form to address complexity of arts engagement in
palliative care. This review is a step toward aggregating existing
evidence to advance knowledge regarding
the full potential of arts engagement and to make the arts more
widely available to patients in palliative and end-of-life
care.