Florida: Arts and Health Care Indicators

The Florida Division of Cultural Affairs (DCA) is funding a three-year initiative of the University of Florida Center for the Arts in Medicine to establish widely applicable indicators for associating the arts and well-being at the community level. DCA’s support of the project is institutionally deep, as promoting healthy, vibrant and thriving communities is one of the five main goals of its 2015-2020 Strategic Plan. Since the project began two years ago, a team of researchers has developed a set of indicators and a statistical model through which it can identify associations between arts participation and a range of public health indicators. Currently, the researchers are testing their indicators in three Florida counties, including the most populous and the second-least populous counties in the state. As the final year of the initiative begins, the project partners plan to publish their findings and expand their testing with an eye toward fostering broader understanding of the importance of the arts on health and well-being around the region and nation. To learn more, contact Division Director Sandy Shaughnessy.