Embedding visual and performing arts into health professional education - a scoping review and conceptual framework

Public health professionals need evidence-based education to equip them with sufficient knowledge to recommend creative community programmes and arts therapies. The current review asks 'What is known about how visual arts, performing arts, and creative writing are embedded in health and medical education?'.

A search across six different databases (CINAHL, ERIC, Medline, AMED, ProQuest Dissertations, and Web of Science) identified 6090 articles, and 284 were included. The core search terms were (1) Visual arts; performance arts and creative writing, (2) Tertiary education and health Professionals. Descriptive statistics were used to quantify the characteristics of learning activities. Thematic analysis was used to identify the intended learning outcomes.

Nursing was the most represented profession, followed closely by medicine. An extremely wide range of art practices were identified, including graffiti, sculpture, clowning, cinematic arts, music, creative writing, poetry, dance, photo, and art viewing. The review characterises how visual arts, performing arts, and creative writing are currently being used, including the group size, setting, engagement style, and collaboration with creative practitioners. Surprisingly, only 10% of studies focussed on creative arts therapies, arts-based interventions or community arts, and no mention of social prescribing was identified. Instead, the majority of studies focussed on visual and performing arts as pedagogical tools, and the main learning outcomes were professional development (promoting empathy, communication, preparedness for practice, negative attitudes), clinical practice (critical thinking, specialist knowledge, clinical skills), and personal development (self-awareness, well-being).

This review highlights that visual and performing arts are used as pedagogical tools across a range of professions, and the need for more patient-centred educational provision in creative arts therapies, arts-based interventions, and community arts. Future curricula could engage arts practitioners and cultural spaces more directly to support experiential learning approaches and evaluate creative techniques to identify if they can enhance student learning.