The project Arts on Prescription in the Baltic Sea Region helps public authorities, cultural and health institutions engage people with mental health challenges in social and non-therapy art activities to improve their mental wellbeing.

Description of the project:
Arts on prescription (AoP) is a concept to improve the mental wellbeing of citizens. The idea is that people with a diagnosed mental condition such as depression, stress or anxiety, or people at risk of developing such a condition (e.g. due to loneliness) get a prescription not for medicine or therapy, but for taking part in regular arts activities in group settings. This has been proven to have positive health effects and to improve mental wellbeing. The challenge that public authorities face when planning and implementing such a programme lies in the underdeveloped cooperation between the culture and health sector, the lack of knowledge on how to set up, organise and evaluate a programme and the lack of long-term financing. The partners of the project Arts on Prescription in the Baltic Sea Region will jointly develop a model programme that is based on state-of-the-art evidence and experience, but adaptable to different local conditions and public health systems. The programme will be piloted by local and regional public authorities in cooperation with cultural institutions and evaluated for its health effects, organisational set-up and economic benefits. The arts on prescription model is then transferred to other cities and regions who are supported with an online practitioner’s guide and a rent-an-expert programme. Moreover, the project will initiate a dialogue with national authorities and health insurance funds in order to improve the structural support and financing options for arts on prescription.

Target audience: People suffering from mild to moderate stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness.

Project partners: 13 partner organisations from 7 different countries in the Baltic Sea Region develop, test and evaluate a model Arts on Prescription programme during three piloting rounds in 2023-2025. Project partners include e.g. municipalities, regions, educational institutes and universities.