Kultur för hälsa - Statens folkhälsoinstitut

It is particularly important for the health and development of young people to ensure
that the physical, mental, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual aspects of health
are all taken into account. Children and young people must have the opportunity to
develop in all these areas since they are inextricably linked and reinforce each other.
Participation in various artistic and cultural forms of expression also facilitates learning.
Objective domain 4 is about improving health in working life. There are a number of
examples of measures that use cultural activities to prevent exhaustion and ill-health
and promote and improve the health of employees.
Objective domain 6 discusses the need for a more health-promoting health service,
where recent research points to the value of culture in care and rehabilitation.
A basis for knowledge and inspiration
kultur för hälsa 17
The anthology contains examples of research projects that point to a connection between
participation in cultural activities (passive and active) and health development. A small
number of these are evaluated longitudinal research projects that employ a population
perspective and a few are randomised controlled studies. Some concern therapeutic
and treatment measures in psychiatry, medical care, elderly care and special care.
Quantitative medical research is often combined with qualitative humanistic research.
Several studies describe cultural measures aimed at stimulating the social, emotional
and intellectual development of children and young people. Practical methodological
initiatives using cultural activities in education, working life, elderly care and the
health service are common but all too often insufficiently documented and seldom evaluated
scientifically.
The publication supports the premise that not only do cultural activities have an
intrinsic value, but they are also important for people's well-being and health. One
difficulty highlighted by several researchers concerning research in this area is to determine
whether it is the artistic experience in itself or the social context within which it
takes place that has a positive impact on health. Experiments comparing cultural participation
to participation in physical activity under the same social circumstances indicate,
however, that social stimulus alone cannot explain the health effects of participating
in cultural activities.