Report: The Health-Culture Interface in Spain

What

This report, commissioned by the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, aims to map and analyze initiatives at the intersection of cultural and healthcare practices in Spain. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the document delves into how art and culture contribute to health and well-being, highlighting practices, models, and strategic recommendations for the future.

The project covers both the identification of current initiatives at the national and international levels (involving at least one Spanish entity), as well as the development of interviews with key professionals in the field (Noemí Ávila Valdés, Jazmín Beirak Ulanosky, Jessica Marian Goodman-Casanova, Elena Rocher Vicedo, and Roser Sanjuán Plana), to build a reflective conversation on the interface between health and culture.

How

The research for this report was coordinated by ZEMOS98 and designed and written by Samuel Fernández-Pichel in collaboration with Felipe G. Gil. The main body of the document is structured into three main sections:

1. Mapping of Initiatives: This section, the longest in the report, categorizes and presents a total of 85 key health-culture initiatives, along with what we have termed “Hubs,” which are entities or initiatives where several activities occur simultaneously. The initiatives include both local and regional projects as well as international proposals, with detailed profiles that include descriptors such as type, scale, objectives, and expected outcomes.
2. Interviews: Based on interviews with five leading professionals, a dialogue of quotes between the interviewees is constructed, delving into shared concepts, experiences, and reflections. This section addresses topics such as training in the emerging field of health and culture, dissemination of these practices, and desirable healthcare and cultural models.
3. Strategic Recommendations: An “Action Plan” is presented with 18 suggestions and ideas for the design of public policies, funding, and collaboration in the emerging field of health and culture.

Why

On one hand, the publication in 2019 of a report commissioned by the WHO Regional Office for Europe has helped inaugurate a new stage in the development of the link between healthcare and artistic practices. That report (Fancourt & Finn, 2019), focused on gathering a wide range of scientific evidence on the beneficial uses of the arts in health and well-being, represents a milestone of legitimacy for a field that has evolved unevenly depending on national contexts. On the other hand, the Concomitentes-UCI Pediátrica project has opened the door at ZEMOS98 to a line of work linking culture and health.

With this report, we aim to deepen our understanding of the links between artistic and healthcare practices, gaining a better understanding of the relationship between the two fields as it is becoming an emerging area of research and practice. Through this report, we seek to answer fundamental questions about how art can improve health, how public policies can support this field, and what are the desirable models for future integration between culture and healthcare.

The Report

You can download it here (only in spanish):

The Health-Culture Interface in Spain: Mapping of Initiatives, Debates, and Strategic Recommendations.

Table of Contents:

8 Reading Guide
16 Introduction
17 Context
18 Conceptual Hesitations
20 Objectives
21 Methodology
25 Mapping of Health and Culture Initiatives
26 Models of Initiatives in Spain (“Hubs”)
40 Profiles of Initiatives in Spain
128 Brief Selection of International Initiatives
135 Interviews with Relevant Professionals in the Health-Culture Interface in Spain
166 Action Plan: 18 Strategic Recommendations on the Health-Culture Interface
177 References

Credits

This report is licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Commissioned by the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation

Coordinated by ZEMOS98, this research was designed and written by Samuel Fernández-Pichel in collaboration with Felipe G. Gil.

Design: Ricardo Barquín Molero.

Acknowledgments: Noemí Ávila Valdés, Jazmín Beirak Ulanosky, Jessica Marian Goodman-Casanova, Elena Rocher Vicedo, and Roser Sanjuán Plana. Thanks to all of them for their generosity and for enriching our understanding of the field of artistic-health practices in Spain.

Developed between March and July 2024.