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The following is a summary of “Arts on prescription intervention for primary healthcare patients with poor mental health or social isolation: a mixed-method study,” published in the May 2025 issue of BMC Primary Care by Jensen et al. 

Primary healthcare providers faced growing challenges in managing patients’ psychosocial needs, while Arts on Prescription (AoP) demonstrated benefits for improving mental health and wellbeing.   

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess the psychosocial impact of participation in an AoP programme.   

They included 112 patients with depression, anxiety, or social isolation from 18 primary care centers in Scania who joined a 10-week group-based arts program held twice weekly for 2 hours and gathered the baseline data utilizing the Short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS) the Salutogenic Health Indicator Scale (SHIS), and 14 sociodemographic and self-rated health variables and 28 semi-structured interviews were also conducted, analyzed quantitative data using paired t-tests and general linear regression models for changes in SEMWBS and SHIS, and applied a thematic approach to qualitative data.   

The results showed a significant improvement in both SWEMWBS and SHIS scores (P< 0.001) based on paired t-test analysis. The general linear regression model indicated greater increases in SWEMWBS among women, those with lower self-rated health, higher healthcare utilization, referrals from primary care, and no prior engagement in arts or cultural activities. Qualitative findings underlined challenges in accessing care and reliance on alternative interventions.   

Investigators concluded that AoP programs positively influenced the well-being of vulnerable groups, supporting a proportionate universalism approach, though findings were limited by the small sample size. 

Source: bmcprimcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875-025-02866-2