Art that heals, health and social cohesion can grow together

Social prescription, well-established for years in countries like the United Kingdom, is a person-centered approach that aims to promote health and social cohesion by directing people toward activities that (while not clinical in nature) have a positive impact on well-being, such as creative workshops, museum visits, theater, reading, and music. But what about Italy?

Answering this question means outlining the current landscape of Italian initiatives that, based on the recommendations of doctors, psychologists, and other healthcare professionals, integrate artistic and cultural practices into prevention and treatment programs, contributing to people's well-being and health.

This is the objective of the Cultural Welfare Center – CCW , which has launched a survey on the state of the art of social prescription of artistic and cultural activities in Italy.

It's essentially a questionnaire, and you can fill it out HERE until September 30th. Participation takes about 20 minutes, and your responses will be treated anonymously and confidentially.

Entities and operators in the artistic, cultural, healthcare, educational, and social sectors, public administrations, and social investors who have already experimented, or intend to experiment, with the inclusion of artistic and cultural activities in their programs through a social prescription approach, with the systematization of community resources recommended by the healthcare world to promote health, can participate in the survey.

Why it's important. This personalized, person-centered care model can help ease pressure on the healthcare system, as numerous studies demonstrate . In Italy, the social prescription of culture and art is still experimental and fragmented, and collecting data and practices is essential to understand the different forms in which social prescription takes place, to identify objectives, operational methods, and outcomes, to support development, and to build a solid foundation for systemic policies and interventions .

«In countries where the use of social prescription is a consolidated reality, such as the United Kingdom, the general practitioner, identifying patients' health needs that can be adequately addressed through cultural or artistic activities, directs them to a liaison operator», explains Catterina Seia , president of CCW.

"This professional," she adds, "helps them access local services and organizations, such as support groups, cultural activities, or social services, thus contributing to their overall well-being." In Italy, this approach is not yet systematic, but it takes shape through activities at the local level.

For this reason, here, the term "social prescription" for culture and art refers to non-clinical interventions performed on medical advice or prescription, which do not necessarily include a link worker between the healthcare sector and the resources offered by the community.

The survey is part of a CCW research project, thanks to the collaboration with the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation – Obiettivo cultura, Missione Promote active participation . To support the dissemination of social prescription, the CCW has edited the Italian translation of the World Health Organization's 2022 toolkit on how to implement social prescription, a useful tool for designing and implementing effective pathways at the local level. It can be downloaded HERE .

Opening photo by Age Cymru on Unsplash. Text image from the Cultural Welfare Center website.