VHS in collaboration with Scottish Rural Health Partnership (SRHP) hosted this event exploring culture, health and wellbeing in rural settings, at the University of Highlands and Islands (UHI) in Inverness. 42 delegates registered from across a wide range of voluntary and public sector organisations, UHI and the arts and cultural sector. The aim of the event was to shine a light on the impact of art and culture on health and wellbeing with specific reference to activities taking place in rural settings. This paper summaries the main ideas presented and discussed, as well as providing VHS’s own reflections on the overall topic of culture, health and wellbeing.
The event was chaired by VHS’s Chief Executive Claire Stevens, with an opening address by Karen O’Hanlon, Business Development Manager at SRHP. Other presenters were:
- Dr Sarah-Anne Munoz, Reader and Senior Lecturer in Rural Health, University of the Highlands and Islands, Division of Rural Health and Wellbeing
- Margaret O’Connor, Chief Executive, Art in Healthcare
- Cathy Steer, Head of Health Improvement, NHS Highland
- Duncan MacInnes MBE, Creative Director, SEALL (Skye Events for All)
- Robert Livingston, Director, Regional Screen Scotland
- Dr Ania Zubala, Research Fellow, UHI Division of Rural Health and Wellbeing,
- Dr Mark Grindle, Senior Lecturer in Digital Health, UHI Division of Rural Health and Wellbeing
Presentations from the event:
Margaret O’Connor Art in Healthcare
[…] The role that arts and culture has to play in the broader landscape of community wellbeing was of particularly interest to us and something we’d like to think about in terms of its role in safe and well communities. There were a number of inputs that offered an approach that could be used in community safety settings for behaviour change, and we were also interested in the discussions on the value of third sector, social-based data and evidence. You can find out more by reading the key messages here. […]