Increasing Public Health Awareness of and Capacity for Arts-Based Therapy in Medicine

In the Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO), "health" was defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being rather than merely the absence of disease or sickness.1 As awareness grows of the role that social determinants have on health, there has been a renewed appreciation that health extends beyond the lack of illness. This is reflected in the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health report, which acknowledged that causes of well-being and health overlap but are not identical.2 The report recommended that further work be conducted to identify personal, social, and environmental factors that benefit health and well-being.2