Jameel Arts & Health Lab

🌍 Around 1 in 7 children and adolescents globally, and 1 in 5 in the UK, experience mental health challenges. Yet access to timely, acceptable support remains limited. Could arts-based interventions and arts therapies help close this gap? A new systematic review and meta-analysis published in The Lancet eClinicalMedicine brings together evidence from 100 studies across 29 countries, examining arts-based programs for children and young people aged 5–24, including both healthy and vulnerable populations. Findings showed great improvements in mental health: ✨ Depression and anxiety were substantially reduced, with effects lasting beyond the intervention ✨ Well-being and quality of life improved moderately. ✨ Results were robust across different study designs and art forms. ✨ Effects varied depending on age, vulnerability, and the type of arts activity. ✨ Biological measures supported self-reported improvements, strengthening confidence in the results. 🎨 Arts-based interventions offer more than an engaging way to reach young people. This review strengthens the evidence that they can provide effective, inclusive, and acceptable support for youth mental health, with low dropout rates and the potential to help narrow the gap between need and care. Led by Jameel Arts & Health Lab affiliate researcher Vicky Karkou (Edge Hill University), the international research team included Pui Sze Cheung (Edge Hill University), @Sarah Rhodes and Wilfried Lakena (Centre for Biostatistics, University of Manchester), JA&HL Postdoctoral Research Associate Elisabeth Bahr (NYU Steinhardt), and Lab co-directors Nisha Sajnani, and Nils Fietje. ➡️ Read the full review: https://lnkd.in/epRcrr2u Reference: Cheung, P. S., Rhodes, S., Bahr, E., Lakena, W., Sajnani, N., Fietje, N., amp; Karkou, V. (2026). The effects of the arts and arts therapies on mental health outcomes of children and young people: a systematic review and meta-analysis. eClinicalMedicine, 101. https://lnkd.in/e_PFSurv Research Partners: Developed under the AHRC-funded study Arts4Us delivered by Edge Hill University with support from the University of Manchester, New York University and the Jameel Arts & Health Lab. Contact Prof Vicky Karkou: karkouv@edgehill.ac.uk Jameel Arts & Health Lab partners: NYU Steinhardt, WHO Regional Office for Europe, CULTURUNNERS, and Community Jameel #ArtsAndHealth #YouthMentalHealth #CreativeHealth #ArtsBasedInterventions #CreativeArtsTherapies

“We found that visual art was able to reduce stress, improve mood, improve a sense of calm and, in some studies, there were actually changes in physiological indicators of stress” 🙌 🖼️ Nisha Sajnani, PhD RDT-BCT, founding co-director of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab speaks to Dylan Klempner, MFA in The Art Newspaper on the Lab's scoping review on the impact of viewing visual artwork among patients, staff, and visitors in healthcare settings. Read the full article on the role of visual arts in hospitals here https://lnkd.in/eBxYrVEB and check out the scoping review here https://lnkd.in/dYmRFzuh

I had the pleasure of joining Betsy Hills Bush on Your Creative Midlife for a conversation about art as care, and about how NYC Health + Hospitals has stewarded one of the most remarkable public art collections in the country for nearly a century. We talked about the work our Arts in Medicine team does every day, using art as clinical infrastructure in the hospital environment, and building pathways that connect patients and staff to the creative life of this city. I was also able to discuss my own mid-life pivot and how I landed in the art and culture space here in NYC with a little inspiration from my family. Thank you, Betsy, for such a thoughtful and generous conversation and John-Morgan Bush for the introduction. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/guGq5cdE #ArtsInMedicine #ArtsAndHealth #PublicHealth #NYCHealthHospitals #CreativeHealth #KeithHaring Monica Mariño Ashley Arnold Emireth Herrera Valdes Ryan Patrick Rick Luftglass Jan Rothschild Kira Pritchard Sarah Johnson Yazmany Arboleda Nisha Sajnani, PhD RDT-BCT Jill Sonke Bharti Sharma, MHA, MS, CAHIMS Jeremy Segall, MA, RDT, LCAT, FPCC Eric Wei Tania Duvergne Marcel Foster Kendal Henry Akhila Khanna, LCAT, RDT Tiffany Lu, MD, MS, FASAM Michael S. S. Omar Fattal MD, MPH

The Jameel Arts & Health Lab was well represented at NOAH National Organization for Arts in Health (US) annual conference this week in Rochester, NY Lab postdoctoral researcher Dr. Elisabeth Bahr and Dr Alex Rodriguez, PhD, MPH (UF) presented the Lab’s research on Arts & Youth Mental Health. This research will inform a forthcoming WHO policy brief to encourage the integration of the arts and arts therapies across a continuum of health promotion and care. Read more about Arts & Youth Mental Health: https://lnkd.in/eSHXtiTJ Yifan Chen, MHS (NUS) presented the THRIVE arts and health evaluation toolkit co-led by affiliated researcher Dr. Kat Agres (Center for Music and Health, NUS), Jean LiuJean Liu 卢传瑾卢传瑾 and an international team including Lab Co-Director and Research Lead Prof. Nisha Sajnani, PhD RDT-BCT (NYU Steinhardt) Check out the THRIVE Toolkit: https://lnkd.in/eFnU8DVk  The Lab team and partners will return on Oct 28th for NOAH’s virtual day to share findings from the Hospital Murals Evaluation (HoME), the largest study of its kind on the impact of murals in hospitals on patients, staff, and visitors. Learn more about HoME here: https://lnkd.in/e5Pkd6P4

We’re delighted to support global fellowships in the arts and health to enable participation in the annual Arts Health Research Intensive - London edition!

Did you attend UNGA Healing Arts Week? We want to hear from you! Have your voice heard to build the next edition of UNGA Healing Arts Week. Your feedback helps us to understand the interests of the NYC arts and health community to improve our program for next year’s edition. 🔗 Take the survey here https://lnkd.in/ec8-5SNi Open until October 31, 2026

If you’re in the United States and consider your practice to be at the intersections of arts and health, take this survey today!

Arab News covered the Well-Being Concert and Reception at Carnegie Hall recognizing the healing power of the arts in times of war. “We specifically invited UN delegates and NGO leaders working on the frontlines of armed conflicts affecting children,” Stephen Stapleton, founding co-director of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, said of the concert. “We hoped Somi’s music would give them strength and inspiration, ease some of the stress and anxiety they carry, and show them that the arts can be a genuine resource in their work.” The evening began with a Carnegie Hall Well-Being Concert featuring Grammy-nominated and NAACP Image Award–winning jazz, soul, and pop vocalist Somi and concluded with a reception marking the 30th Anniversary of the UN mandate on Children and Armed Conflict, hosted by Carnegie Hall and the Jameel Arts & Health Lab in collaboration with the World Health Organization, Community Jameel and War Child Alliance. The event brought together leading voices in policy, culture, health, and humanitarian action, to move children’s mental health in armed conflict from a humanitarian concern to a global cultural and public health priority. Thank you to our esteemed speakers George Richards (Community Jameel), Sheema SenGupta (UNICEF) and Mark Jordans (War Child Alliance) and This event was part of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab’s UNGA Healing Arts Week, the largest arts and health festival in the United States, running annually alongside the UN General Assembly. Images by Chris Lee, courtesy of Carnegie Hall. https://lnkd.in/eM_yHHYS

Here’s an accessible opportunity to dive into how to evaluate the health and wellbeing impact of your arts based programs, shared by our network including affiliated researcher Katey Warran and affiliated Center for Excellence Scottish Ballet and many more!