Arts and health care : research into practice

In the Western world – for example the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands – governments and governmental organizations, as well as civil societies, are more and more aware of the role the arts play in the field of health care for staff, patients and health carers. Scientific research into the effects of the initiatives in this field too often only circulates in the scientific arena. National data collections are structured too generally or are too focused on research activities and capacities in one field. In both situations policymakers cannot make informed decisions on the basis of these research results. The best chance to date of implementing research results seems to be to present them directly to both the cultural and health care field and health and cultural policymakers.