Health and wellbeing are fundamental in addressing broader economic, social, and environmental challenges. By promoting Arts on Prescription (AoP) , we can create a healthier population better equipped to tackle these issues. The following policy recommendations aim to promote, strengthen and advance health and culture initiatives.
- Research policies and strategies where AoP programmes can play a significant role in addressing their focus areas
- Pave the way for cross-sectoral collaboration between the culture, health, and social sectors when introducing culture as an innovative solution in promoting health and wellbeing
- Formalise partnerships between sectors to secure the endorsement of arts on prescription programmes and streamline referral systems
- Engage cultural institutions and health and social organisations in the community to gain a wider range of perspectives and acceptance of arts on prescription in the community
- Encourage co-creation processes in the planning and implementation of AoP programmes to determine roles and responsibilities from all sectors
- Design AoP programmes to meet the needs of your community and target audience
- Determine existing financial, technical, and personnel resources, and allocate these resources across the different sectors
- Explore financial models, such as public-private funding and involve donors focused on mental health, wellbeing and culture
- Develop a consortium of culture and arts facilitators for the delivery of AoP programmes and/or integrate existing structures and/or constellations of culture programmes, in order to develop and expand their impact in the community
- Provide training for health professionals to understand culture’s role in health prevention and promotion interventions and to be able to identify and refer persons who would benefit from AoP
- Ensure the staff position of link worker is prioritised, as they play a central role in the success of the AoP programme
- Encourage networking events for all stakeholders to exchange knowledge and experiences at local and national level
- Prioritise evaluation and research of AoP programmes to investigate health social and economic impact and the added-value AoP programmes provide to society
- Reflect on the evaluation data (both quantitative and qualitative) to refine and improve AoP programmes
- Raise awareness of the benefits of Arts on Prescriptions programmes for health and wellbeing
- Advocate for policies and strategies that support the integration of arts on prescription programmes at local, regional, and national level to further the agenda for culture and health interventions.
For a more comprehensive perception of the policy recommendation, we suggest that your project manager delve deeper into the guide, specifically focusing on the themes of Organisational Framework & Cross-Sectoral Collaboration, Developing your AoP Programme, Evaluation, and Funding.