Four articles on public policy for arts in health are being published in the Lancet, as part of a series in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Jameel Arts & Health Lab. The Lancet has been a leading medical journal for almost 200 years, and is currently ranked as the #1 medical journal worldwide.
The Lancet articles on arts and health policy
Former president of Chile Dr. Michelle Bachelet has written an article for the Lancet’s Comment section arguing that the arts should be treated as a public good. Arguing that arts in health can support healthier, fairer, and more humane societies, Dr. Bachelet calls on governments to consider equitable cultural participation as part of the social infrastructure of health.
In the journal’s Viewpoint section, Dr. Nisha Sajnani and her colleagues lay out an agenda for policy research for arts in health. To make sure policymakers can effectively formulate arts in health policies, they need a rich, high-quality evidence base. In this article, the authors outline four challenge areas that they recommend researchers to prioritize. These are: strengthening ethics and safeguarding, enhancing empirical rigour and economic evaluation, embracing methodological pluralism, and addressing the uneven global distribution of evidence.
A peer-reviewed study by Professor Daisy Fancourt and colleagues offers a series of ‘roadmaps’ to guide the integration of the arts into healthcare practice, policy, and research. Along with the recent publication of her book, The Art Cure, Fancourt is also part of the “European Culture and Health Hub” of Horizon Europe, a 14-country investigation into the effectiveness of arts in health programs across the EU. Arts in Health Groningen represents the Netherlands on that project, conducting field research and helping to develop tools for arts in health policymakers.
The digital versions of the four articles are now available at no cost to account holders, and accounts can be created by anyone.
Photo essay launch at the Guggenheim
The Jameel Arts & Health Lab also launched a photo essay alongside the Lancet Global Series. The event took place at the Guggenheim Museum in New York on September 24, 2025, as part of UNGA Healing Arts Week. The photo essay brings together images of arts and health initiatives from around the world. It highlights the potential of the arts to support health and well-being, including in under-represented communities and complex care environments. The launch brought together representatives from the Guggenheim, The Lancet, WHO, and Community Jameel, alongside artists, researchers, and health practitioners.