Arts-based approaches to promoting health in sub-Saharan Africa : a scoping review
Date
21/05/2020Author
Keywords
Metadata
Show full item recordAltmetrics Handle Statistics
Altmetrics DOI Statistics
Abstract
Introduction Arts-based approaches to health promotion have been used widely across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), particularly in public health responses to HIV/AIDS. Such approaches draw on deep-rooted historical traditions of indigenous groups in combination with imported traditions which emerged from colonial engagement. To date, no review has sought to map the locations, health issues, art forms and methods documented by researchers using arts-based approaches in SSA. Methods Using scoping review methodology, 11 databases spanning biomedicine, arts and humanities and social sciences were searched. Researchers screened search results for papers using predefined criteria. Papers included in the review were read and summarised using a standardised proforma. Descriptive statistics were produced to characterise the location of the studies, art forms used or discussed, and the health issues addressed, and to determine how best to summarise the literature identified. Results Searches identified a total of 59 794 records, which reduced to 119 after screening. We identified literature representing 30 (62.5%) of the 48 countries in the SSA region. The papers covered 16 health issues. The majority (84.9%) focused on HIV/AIDS-related work, with Ebola (5.0%) and malaria (3.3%) also receiving attention. Most studies used a single art form (79.0%), but a significant number deployed multiple forms (21.0%). Theatre-based approaches were most common (43.7%), followed by music and song (22.6%), visual arts (other) (9.2%), storytelling (7.6%) and film (5.0%). Conclusions Arts-based approaches have been widely deployed in health promotion in SSA, particularly in response to HIV/AIDS. Historically and as evidenced by this review, arts-based approaches have provided a platform to facilitate enquiry, achieved significant reach and in some instances supported demonstrable health-related change. Challenges relating to content, power relations and evaluation have been reported. Future research should focus on broadening application to other conditions, such as non-communicable diseases, and on addressing challenges raised in research to date.
Citation
Bunn , C , Kalinga , C , Mtema , O , Abdulla , S , DIllip , A , Lwanda , J , Mtenga , S M , Sharp , J , Strachan , Z & Gray , C M 2020 , ' Arts-based approaches to promoting health in sub-Saharan Africa : a scoping review ' , BMJ Global Health , vol. 5 , no. 5 , e001987 . https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001987
Publication
BMJ Global Health
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2059-7908Type
Journal item
Rights
Copyright © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Description
This study was jointly funded by the UK’s Medical Research Council and Arts and Humanities Research Council, as part of the Global Challenges Research Fund- reference number MR/R024448/1. CK is funded by a Wellcome Trust Medical Humanities Fellowship.Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Association between tobacco control policies and current smoking across different occupational groups in the EU between 2009 and 2017
So, Vivian H. T.; Best, Catherine; Currie, Dorothy; Haw, Sally (2019-08) - Journal articleBACKGROUND: This study investigated the cross-national and longitudinal associations between national tobacco control policies and current smoking in 28 European Union (EU) member states between 2009 and 2017. It also ... -
Effectiveness of an intervention for improving drug prescription in primary care patients with multimorbidity and polypharmacy : study protocol of a cluster randomized clinical trial (Multi-PAP project)
Prados-Torres, Alexandra; del Cura-González, Isabel; Prados-Torres, Daniel; López-Rodríguez, Juan A.; Leiva-Fernández, Francisca; Calderón-Larrañaga, Amaia; López-Verde, Fernando; Gimeno-Feliu, Luis A.; Escortell-Mayor, Esperanza; Pico-Soler, Victoria; Sanz-Cuesta, Teresa; Bujalance-Zafra, M. Josefa; Morey-Montalvo, Mariel; Boxó-Cifuentes, José Ramón; Poblador-Plou, Beatriz; Fernández-Arquero, José Manuel; González-Rubio, Francisca; Ramiro-González, María D.; Coscollar-Santaliestra, Carlos; Martín-Fernández, Jesús; Barnestein-Fonseca, M. Pilar; Valderas-Martínez, José María; Marengoni, Alessandra; Muth, Christiane; Multi-PAP Group; Hernández-Santiago, Virginia; Azcoaga-Lorenzo, Amaya (2017-04-27) - Journal articleBackground: Multimorbidity is associated with negative effects both on people's health and on healthcare systems. A key problem linked to multimorbidity is polypharmacy, which in turn is associated with increased risk of ... -
Effectiveness of a strategy that uses educational games to implement clinical practice guidelines among Spanish residents of family and community medicine (e-EDUCAGUIA project) : A clinical trial by clusters
del Cura-González, Isabel; López-Rodríguez, Juan A.; Sanz-Cuesta, Teresa; Rodríguez-Barrientos, Ricardo; Martín-Fernández, Jesús; Ariza-Cardiel, Gloria; Polentinos-Castro, Elena; Román-Crespo, Begoña; Escortell-Mayor, Esperanza; Rico-Blázquez, Milagros; Hernández-Santiago, Virginia; Azcoaga-Lorenzo, Amaya; Ojeda-Ruiz, Elena; González-González, Ana I.; Ávila-Tomas, José F.; Barrio-Cortés, Jaime; Molero-García, José M.; Ferrer-Peña, Raul; Tello-Bernabé, María Eugenia; Trujillo-Martín, Mar; Barral, Araceli Garrido; Moreno, Aurora Fernández; Pérez, Paloma Casado; Barba, Emilio Cervera; Rodríguez Monje, María Teresa; Iturbe, Ana Gorroñogoitia; Crespo, Luis Ignacio Mendibil; Mañeru, M. Eulalia Mariñelarena; de Gómez Barragan, Ma Josefa Gil; Elustondo, Sofía Garrido; Fuertes, Rosario Riesgo; Cabello Ballesteros, Luisa María; Nido, Rocío álvarez; Moreno, Cruz Bartolome; Rojas, Guillermo Cairo; Rivas, Jose Luis Lopez; Pikatza, Amaya Zenarutzabeitia; Celaya, Carmen Sánchez; Montalvo, Mariel Morey; Almeida, Lizzy Paola Cisneros; álamo Rodríguez, Manuel Del; García-Franco, Alberto López; Weismann, Elisa Ceresuela; álvarez, Remedios Martín; Bustillo, Beatriz Medina; del Pozo, Marta Sánchez Celaya; Perruca, Luis Sánchez; Salinero Fort, Miguel ángel; de Burgos Luna, Carmen; SanJuan, Angel Mataix; Educaguia Group (2016-05-17) - Journal articleBackground: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have been developed with the aim of helping health professionals, patients, and caregivers make decisions about their health care, using the best available evidence. In many ...