Prescribing Art: Museums as Public Health Partners

Throughout Western medicine physicians have prescribed medications and recommended lifestyle alterations to improve health outcomes. A public health model, known as social prescribing, is acknowledging overall wellbeing is influenced by more than medical interventions. In Canada, arts-based social prescribing programs have demonstrated how cultural experiences play a meaningful role in supporting both physical and mental health.

Social prescribing connects patients with community resources that can improve quality of life and complement traditional medical care. Since the 2010’s, Canadian physicians and health programs have embraced the arts as a powerful tool for healing and wellbeing. An area well studied by artists, art historians, and art therapists for decades if not centuries before. Through innovative partnerships between healthcare providers and museums, physicians are now able to prescribe visits to cultural institutions as part of a patient’s treatment plan.