EpiArts Lab

Working with University of Florida to explore how the arts are linked to health outcomes in the USA.

Partnership with Center for Arts in Medicine, University of Florida

In this project we are seeking to address the overarching question: does arts engagement have long-term benefits for health? To find this out, we are using US cohort study data and an epidemiological (statistical) approach to measure the impact of the arts at a population level.

Several specific questions guide this research:

  • Are there associations between arts engagement, promotion of wellbeing and prevention of, or recovery from, mental illness?
  • Is arts engagement associated with engagement in health-promoting behaviours or reduced likelihood of emotional-behavioural problems or risky behaviours?
  • Is engaging in the arts associated with a reduced risk of physical ill-health, such as developing non-communicable diseases, dementia, or age-related decline?
  • Are the links between arts engagement and health outcomes similar across different age groups and sociodemographic groups?
  • How might arts and cultural engagement be improving health outcomes – what are the active ingredients and potential mechanisms?
  • Understanding arts and cultural engagement as a health behaviour – who engages in different activities, where, and with who, and has this changed over time?

We are also comparing findings between and across the UK, US and 13 other countries to analyse different patterns of arts engagement, demographics, social/political structures and health challenges.

Impact and media

The Impact of Arts and Cultural Engagement on Population Health

In March 2023, we released a report summarising our work using cohort study data from the US and the UK to explore the impact of the arts on population health. You can view the full report here, but we’ve also produced digestible evidence briefs on particular topics that might be of interest, which you can view here.

Arts, Culture & the Brain

We were commissioned by Arts Council England in 2022 to use epidemiological analysis alongside a literature review to investigate the impacts of creativity and culture on the brain. Specifically, we looked at how the arts impacts feelings of wellbeing, connectedness to others, and motivation, across different life stages and socioeconomic groups. The full report can be found here.

Creativity and the brain: How the arts can shape well-being

In December 2022, Dr Jess Bone participated in a panel discussion about how the arts can shape our wellbeing – watch the recording below.

Selected publications

For a full list of publications, please visit University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine.

Bone, J.K., Fancourt, D., Sonke, J.K., & Bu, F (2024) The Changing Relationship Between Hobby Engagement and Substance Use in Young People: Latent Growth Modelling of the Add Health Cohort. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. [DOI]

Bone, J.K., Bu, F., Sonke, J. K., & Fancourt, D. (2024). Leisure engagement in older age is related to objective and subjective experiences of aging. Nature Communications, 14, 1499. [DOI]

Gao, Q., Bone, J.K., Finn, S., & Fancourt, D. (2024). The reciprocal associations between social deficits, social engagement, and inflammation: Longitudinal evidence comparing venous blood samples and dried blood spots and mapping the modifying role of phenotypic and genotypic depression. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 119, 120–128. [DOI]

Mak, H.W., Noguchi, T., Bone, J.K. et al (2023) Hobby engagement and mental wellbeing among people aged 65 years and older in 16 countries. Nature Medicine, 29, 2233–2240. [DOI]

Bone, J.K., Fancourt, D., Sonke, J. K., & Bu, F. (2023) Participatory and Receptive Arts Engagement in Older Adults: Associations with Cognition Over a Seven-Year Period. Creativity Research Journal. [DOI]

Bone, J. K., Fancourt, D., Fluharty, M. E., Paul, E., Sonke, J. K., & Bu, F. (2023) Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between arts engagement, loneliness, and social support in adolescence. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 58, 931-938. [DOI]

Bone, J. K., Bu, F., Sonke, J. K., & Fancourt, D. (2023). Longitudinal associations between arts engagement and flourishing in young adults: A fixed effects analysis of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Affective Science. [DOI]

Fluharty, M.E., Bone, J.K., Bu, F., Sonke, J.K., Fancourt, D., & Paul, E. (2023) Associations between extracurricular arts activities, school-based arts engagement, and subsequent externalising behaviours in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. Scientific Reports, 13, 13840. [DOI]

Bone, J. K., Bu, F., Fluharty, M. E., Paul, E., Sonke, J. K., & Fancourt, D. (2022). Engagement in leisure activities and depression in older adults in the United States: Longitudinal evidence from the Health and Retirement Study. Social Science & Medicine, 294, 114703. [DOI]

Bone, J. K., Bu, F., Fluharty, M. E., Paul, E., Sonke, J. K., & Fancourt, D. (2022). Arts and Cultural Engagement, Reportedly Antisocial or Criminalized Behaviors, and Potential Mediators in Two Longitudinal Cohorts of Adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 51, 1463–1482. [DOI]

Bone, J. K., Fancourt, D., Fluharty, M. E., Paul, E., Sonke, J. K., & Bu, F. (2022). Associations between participation in community arts groups and aspects of wellbeing in older adults in the United States: A propensity score matching analysis. Aging & Mental Health. [DOI]

Bone, J. K., Bu, F., Fluharty, M. E., Paul, E., Sonke, J. K., & Fancourt, D. (2021). Who engages in the arts in the United States? A comparison of several types of engagement using data from The General Social Survey. BMC Public Health21(1), 1-13. [DOI]

Funders

University of Florida, Bloomberg Philanthropies, National Endowment for the Arts (USA), Pabst Steinmetz Foundation, American for the Arts, Dharma Endowment Foundation

Programme area

Epidemiology

Status

Ongoing

Principal Investigator

Dr Daisy Fancourt, UCL
Dr Jill Sonke, University of Florida

UCL Research Team

Dr Jessica Bone
Dr Karen Mak
Dr Feifei Bu

Timescales

2020-2026

Key Contact

d.fancourt@ucl.ac.uk