Artists should be embedded in health sector – report
Mental health sector seen as ideal starting point
Artists and creative professionals should be formally embedded into Malta’s healthcare system as part of a national effort to integrate culture and health, according to a new report.
The report, entitled Bridging the Gap in Culture and Health: Connecting Key Stakeholders in the Maltese Islands, was created by ARC Research and Consultancy, which advocates for the development and sustainability of the cultural and creative sectors.
Based on 25 interviews with key stakeholders in healthcare and culture, it argues for a more systemic, policy-driven approach to the role of the arts in health settings, particularly in areas such as hospitals, mental health services and public health campaigns.
The study focused on three key areas: the arts in hospital settings, the arts as contributors to mental health promotion, and the role of culture in disease prevention and public health communication.
While some artistic interventions already exist in Malta’s health sector, “current funding models often prioritise short-term initiatives, making it difficult for practitioners to establish lasting interventions”.
The COVID-19 pandemic also disrupted many such efforts.
Healthcare professionals, who participated in the study, expressed general support for integrating cultural work into healthcare, but raised concerns about “frequent management changes, bureaucratic hurdles and limited resources, including staffing and budget constraints”.
One interviewee, music therapist Rosetta Debattista, emphasised the lack of full-time professionals and training programmes dedicated to integrating arts into healthcare in Malta. She highlighted that sustainable progress requires institutional commitment, with continuous employment of professionals within healthcare settings such as Mount Carmel and Mater Dei.
Among the specific actions proposed by the report are the creation of “a permanent working group or advisory board comprising representatives from healthcare, culture, academia and public policy”, and “a central digital hub… to improve accessibility and coordination”.
In addition to employment reforms, the report also calls for stronger academic engagement.
Mental health was identified as a particularly suitable area for initial implementation, due to it being a pressing societal concern and the sector’s openness to cultural interventions.
Recommendations were developed through workshops and follow-up meetings held in collaboration with entities including Primary Healthcare, the Mental Health Services (Mount Carmel Hospital), the Malta Chamber of Psychologists and the Superintendence for Public Health.
The study was carried out under the Artistic Research and Development Scheme administered by Arts Council Malta.