European inventory of
societal values of culture

Zbranca et al. - Culture’s contribution to health and well-being

Zbranca, R., Dâmaso, M., Blaga, O., Kiss, K., Dascăl, M. D., Yakobson, D., & Pop, O. (2022).Culture’s contribution to health and well-being. A report on evidence and policy recommendations for Europe. CultureForHealth. Culture Action Europe.

This scoping review addresses the growing awareness regarding the significant role of culture and the arts in improving health and well-being at both individual and collective levels. Policymakers are increasingly interested in utilizing cultural approaches to enhance well-being. However, implementing sustainable interventions that effectively change policies and strategies at the practitioner level presents challenges, which call for a comprehensive understanding of recent developments in methods and evidence across disciplines and an empirical understanding of the facilitators and barriers in implementing existing interventions.

The review aims to bridge the gap between the rapidly expanding and interdisciplinary research on the positive impact of culture and arts on human health and well-being and the policies at the EU level. It seeks to synthesize evidence on the positive effects of cultural participation on health and well-being, exploring various research questions and concepts. Additionally, the review identifies knowledge gaps, provides policy recommendations, and highlights challenges, broadening the scope beyond proposed policy directions and specific measures. The scoping study is part of the CultureForHealth project and aligns with the Preparatory Action – Bottom-Up Policy Development for Culture & Well-being guidelines.