Foundations for change management in integrating the arts into healthcare: An empirical study

Abstract

The uptake of arts-based practices into health care has been slow despite drivers such as increasing awareness of value, policy initiatives, patient satisfaction and quality services. Approaching the issue from within the Consolidated Framework for Implementation of Research (CFIR), our study asked i) if experiences of staff influenced willingness to implement arts and health interventions, ii) about awareness of current music and visual-art programs within the hospital and iii) about staff perceptions of barriers to implementation of arts within healthcare. This mixed methods study used an initial quantitative online survey of staff recruited from a large metropolitan tertiary hospital (n=38) followed by a qualitative semi-structured focus group (n=6). Staff largely reported a willingness to improve integration of arts initiatives, not influenced by their personal experience of the arts. Staff seemed relatively unaware of successful instances of arts programs in their own hospital, unless they were directly involved in its delivery. Barriers to implementation were perceived to come from upper management, with successful programs resulting from individuals or individual team motivations. Results from this initial study suggest that understanding staff perceptions and providing carefully designed educational programs are likely to be key in promoting the change necessary for incorporating the arts into regular patient care.