Mind, Body, Spirit: How museums impact health and wellbeing

[From introduction] How we view health and wellbeing is changing. Health is increasingly recognised as a societal issue, linked to multiple and complex factors, persistent inequalities such as social and economic deprivation, and lifestyle. Prevention is as important as cure, and thinking about new ways in which we can learn to cope with, and adapt to, changes in health and wellbeing. this has opened up huge possibilities for museums and cultural organisations to engage with health and wellbeing. A growing body of evidence shows that museums can bring benefits to individual and community health and wellbeing in their role as public forums for debate and learning, their work with specific audiences through targeted programmes, and by contributing to positive wellbeing and resilience by helping people to make sense of the world and their place within it. this publication reports the findings from a year-long action research project funded by Arts Council England (ACE) and initiated by the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (RCMG), based in the School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester