Museums on Prescription: Exploring the role and value of cultural heritage in social prescribing

越来越多的证据表明博物馆的社会包容作用以及博物馆在改善健康和福祉方面的作用，包括澳大利亚人权委员会资助的先前研究。这项研究表明，参与博物馆提供：积极的社会经验，导致减少社会孤立;学习和获得新闻技能的机会;平静的经验，导致减少焦虑;增加积极的情绪，如乐观，希望和享受;增加自尊和认同感;增加灵感和创造意义的机会;积极分散临床环境的注意力，包括医院和护理院;家庭之间的交流也越来越多，护理人员和卫生专业人员。鉴于广泛的好处，越来越多的博物馆和画廊正在调整其访问计划，以考虑更广泛的社会，健康和幸福的好处，博物馆遇到可以带来的。从博物馆物品处理到回忆会议，再到互动展览、图尔斯、讲座和参与式艺术和创意活动，博物馆提供了各种积极参与的机会。仅在英国就有超过2500家博物馆，其中大部分是免费的，博物馆作为支持公共健康的地方提供了大量未开发的资源。然而，博物馆非常适合解决社会孤立，身心不健康等问题，有证据表明，博物馆可以帮助建立社会资本和复原力，并改善健康和福祉。《卫生和社会保健法》（2012年）正在对今后提供卫生和社会保健服务的方式带来重大变化。这些医疗改革的一个关键部分是转向“预防胜于治疗”，在一个需要多机构方法的模式中，更多地依赖第三部门组织，如慈善机构，志愿者和社区组织。卫生改革的部分原因是人们认识到，人们的寿命更长了，但生活方式却不健康，与年龄和生活方式有关的疾病，如痴呆症和糖尿病大幅增加;这给卫生服务（包括国民保健制度）和社会服务带来了更大的压力。研究还表明，健康存在“社会梯度”，社会经济背景较差的人的健康、幸福感和社会适应力都会下降。考虑到上述好处，博物馆如何适应健康委托的新时代是显而易见的。博物馆部门面临的最大挑战之一是了解如何最好地满足这些需求;在这里，从健康艺术中吸取的经验教训可以帮助博物馆部门了解情况。在过去的几十年里，健康艺术得到了相当大的支持，并得到了强大的证据基础的支持。许多艺术组织与卫生和社会保健提供者建立了更正式的关系，提供被称为“社会处方”的计划。社会处方将初级保健中的患者与社区内的当地支持来源联系起来。这项拟议中的研究旨在测试一种新的“处方博物馆”计划（MoP）。这项研究将把博物馆与卫生和社会保健提供者以及第三部门组织（如英国）联系起来，并利用从基于艺术的社会处方计划中吸取的经验教训，将建立两个MoP，一个在伦敦中心，一个在肯特地区。通过与卫生/社会保健服务用户，博物馆，卫生，社会保健和第三部门专业人员密切合作，研究将使用一系列技术，包括健康措施的质量，访谈和问卷调查，以开发一个可供博物馆部门采用的MoP模型，作为提供新的公共卫生干预措施的一种方式。

There is a growing body of evidence which describes the social inclusion role of museums and the role that museums play in improving health and wellbeing, including previous research funded by the AHRC. This research has shown that engaging in museums provides: positive social experiences, leading to reduced social isolation; opportunities for learning and acquiring news skills; calming experiences, leading to decreased anxiety; increased positive emotions, such as optimism, hope and enjoyment; increased self-esteem and sense of identity; increased inspiration and opportunities for meaning making; positive distraction from clinical environments, including hospitals and care homes; and increased communication between families, carers and health professionals.Given the wide range of benefits it is not surprising that more and more museums and galleries are adapting their access programmes to consider the wider social, health and wellbeing benefits that museum encounters can bring about. From museum object handling to reminiscence sessions, through to interactive exhibitions, tours, talks and participatory arts and creative activities, museums offer a diverse range of opportunities for active engagement. With over 2500 museums in the UK alone, most of which are free, museums offer a largely untapped resource as places which can support public health. Museums, however, are very well placed to address issues such as social isolation, physical and mental ill-health and evidence suggests that museums can help to build social capital and resilience, and improve health and wellbeing. The Health and Social Care Act (2012) is bringing about considerable changes to the way health and social care services will be delivered in the future. A key part of these health reforms sees a shift towards 'prevention is better than cure', within a model which will require a multi-agency approach with an increased reliance on third sector organisations such as charities, voluntary and community organisations. Part of the reason for the health reforms is the realisation that individuals are living longer but with unhealthier lifestyles, with a significant increase in age- and lifestyle-related diseases, such as dementia and diabetes; this places added pressure on health services (including the NHS) and social services. It has also been shown that there is a 'social gradient' in relation to health, whereby individuals from poorer socio-economic backgrounds experience reduced health, wellbeing and social resilience.It is easy to see how museums could fit into this new era of health commissioning considering the benefits described above. One of the biggest challenges facing the museums sector is understanding how best to meet these needs; here lessons from arts-in-health could help inform the museums sector. Over the past few decades arts-in-health has gained considerable support, backed up by a robust evidence base. Many arts organisations have developed more formalised relationships with health and social care providers, offering schemes described as 'social prescribing'. Social prescribing links patients in primary care with local sources of support within the community. The proposed research seeks to test a novel 'Museums on Prescription' scheme (MoP). The research will link museums with health and social care providers, and third sector organisations such as AgeUK, and using lessons learnt from arts-based social prescribing schemes, will set up two MoPs, one in Central London and one regional MoP in Kent. By working closely with health/social care service users, and museum, health, social care and third sector professionals, the research will use a range of techniques, including quality of health measures, interviews and questionnaires, to develop a MoP model which can be adopted by the museums sector as a way to provide a novel public health intervention.