Open access supplement features 18 commentaries, full-length articles and calls to action
Washington, D.C. – May 4, 2021 – The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), in collaboration with the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine and ArtPlace America, announces the publication of, “Arts in Public Health,” a special supplement of its peer-reviewed journal Health Promotion Practice (HPP).
This important collection of papers advances the current knowledge about, skills needed for, and examples of work using the arts to advance individual and population health.
Curated by guest co-editors Jill Sonke, Lourdes Rodriguez and Melissa Valerio-Shewmaker, the supplement features 18 commentaries, full-length articles, and calls to action from thought leaders, practitioners and researchers working to establish an evidence base and set best practices in the field of arts in public health.
“This supplement provides powerful examples and evidence of how cross-sector collaboration between public health and the arts can advance health promotion goals and impacts,” writes Jill Sonke. “It also illustrates the role of the arts in equitably and effectively addressing health equity and altering the upstream systems, policies and structures that create health disparities.”
The supplement shares examples of how the arts are integrated into public health research methods, offers arts-integrated frameworks for research, and introduces arts-based research-to-practice case studies.
Readers will also find evidence syntheses and practice examples that highlight arts-based strategies to address some of our most persistent public health problems such as substance use, social isolation, environmental change, and health equity.
Guest editorial board member Sandro Galea, dean of Boston University’s School of Public Health, also asserts the vision that the arts have a central role in contemporary public health efforts. “I’ve always seen public health as being aspirational towards collectively creating a better world that generates health. Art provides a shared language that dovetails perfectly with seeing the mission of public health as one of generating a better world.”
The supplement concludes with a call-to-action from Maria Rosario Jackson, senior advisor at the Kresge Foundation, who asks researchers and practitioners to reimagine their roles to drive cross-sector collaboration to meet a demand for health equity. She writes, “As the confluence of community development, arts and public health become stronger, the promise of raising the bar -aspiring to greater justice and equity in more meaningful ways – in all three fields is inspiring.”
HPP’s Editor-in-Chief Dr. Kathleen Roe notes, “HPP is proud to showcase these innovative practices and research initiatives. Individually, they offer tools and guidance for sentient community-based action. Together, they demonstrate the transformative power of word, image, and movement across the social-ecological spectrum. This is the arts in public health lens.”
The HPP Podcast will feature several episodes exploring some of the most compelling topics discussed in the supplement, starting May 5 on Spotify (https://spoti.fi/3knpyWt) or wherever you access your podcasts. SOPHE will offer a webinar series featuring a variety of the manuscript authors, beginning May 19, and make several articles available for self-study to earn continuing education credits on SOPHE’s Center for Online Resources and Education (CORE). for those certified in health education or public health.
The Arts in Public Health supplement is available via open access.
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Contact: For more information, please contact Jeanine Robitaille, MS, CHES,® editorial & project manager at jrobitaille@sophe.org or 202.408.9804 ext. 165.
About Health Promotion Practice
Health Promotion Practice (HPP) is an official journal SOPHE. Published bimonthly, the journal is a forum for authoritative research, commentary, practical tools, and promising practices that strategically advance the art and science of health promotion and disease prevention. HPP’s scope includes policy, programs, professional preparation, and career development in diverse settings, including communities, health care, work sites, and schools. HPP is committed to eliminating health disparities, achieving health equity, addressing social determinants of health, and advancing evidence-based health promotion practice.
About SOPHE
The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1950 to provide global leadership to the profession of health education and health promotion, and to promote the health of society. SOPHE represents a diverse membership of 4,000 professionals and students who work and learn in various public and private organizations and universities to advance health education theory and research, develop disease prevention and health promotion programs, and promote public policies conducive to health. For more information visit www.sophe.org.
