Arts-Focused Approaches to Public Health Communications


Public health communications can be enhanced with imagination, flexibility, and creativity to effectively connect across audiences. Artists are particularly responsive to cultural, political, and social changes, and are adept at meeting the moment through new collaborative tools. Artistic frameworks can break down complex topics, unify people across different ideologies, and bring public health issues to life for communities. Join researchers, practitioners, and artists who have used the arts to shift views and build healthier communities.

Environmental portrait of UF researcher Jill Sonke for Explore Magazine taken at the J. Wayne Reitz Union dance studio G010 on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 in Gainesville, Fla. What if your doctor gave you a prescription for a concert or an art class? In the United Kingdom, patients who participate in or even just attend cultural activities have demonstrated health outcomes. A UF team is leading the implementation of this concept in the US. (Photo by Matt Stamey)

Jill Sonke

Director of Research Initiatives, Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida

Tasha Golden

Director of Research, International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Vanessa Ford

Program Director, Trust Transfer Project; Associate Director, Community Music School of Springfield

David Fakunle

Assistant Professor of Public and Allied Health, Morgan State University School of Community Health & Policy