E. Bojner Horwitz

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• Professor of Music and Health
• Professor at Royal College of Music in Stockholm

Despite many decades of academic interest in music and autism, we know little about what music means to autistic adults and how they experience it. The few existing studies lack a common theoretical basis and are therefore difficult to compare and integrate. To address this gap, we investigated whether Self-determination theory can be used as a com...

Cultural activities can affect people's health differently depending on underlying factors, such as their experiences and genetics. Culture and art have a natural way of transforming and integrating knowledge about the health of both the individual body and the body of society. Culture and art have a non-verbal power that goes behind words and thus...

There is a need for easy-to-apply methods for recording typical emotional reactions to music. We have used Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) in various situations and report the results from three different VAS studies. Three types of emotional responses to music, tiredness-arousal, sadness-joy, and anxiety-calmness were studied. In one study, a concert...

There is robust evidence that the arts can be used to support mental health and well-being, but there are few studies on how to use the arts to prepare students, through higher education, to lead sustainable and healthy working lives. Preparation is needed for better learning environments in terms of creativity and health in curricula for higher ac...

Data från fem Preludier inför Nobel på Kungl. Musikhögskolan presenteras från åren 2019 - 2024. Dessa kunskapskonserter engagerar livemusiker och forskare som samskapar föreställningar relaterade till olika aktuella samhällsfrågor och Nobelpris.

The concept of the knowledge concert was developed by researchers at the Royal College of Music and Karolinska Institute in Sweden where live musicians and scientific researchers creates a performance related to an important societal issue. The emotional evocativeness music allows it to act as a facilitator of knowledge acquisition which it is argu...

The present study aimed to increase understanding of how singing activities may be initiated in primary school, and what support and assistance teachers require to conduct singing activities as an integrated part of the school day. Five music teachers participated in a focus group interview. The following main themes were identified: 1) pedagogical...

Stress affects performance, patient safety and work environment in healthcare. During crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic can high workload and work un-der time pressure, with limited resources, when difficult decisions need to be made, lead to morally stressful situations, which can lead to moral distress. In turn can unmanaged moral distress res...

Our review shows many parallels between on one hand music making or dancing in a group and on the other hand physical training in a group. Epidemiological prospective studies have shown that both types of group activities are associated with a prolonged life. But the cultural activities have qualities that the purely physical activities do not have...

Stress påverkar prestation, patientsäkerhet och arbetsmiljö inom hälso- och sjukvården. Under kriser såsom tex Covid-19 pandemin, kan hög arbetsbelastning och arbete under tidspress, med begränsade resurser, då svåra beslut och prioriteringar behöver göras, leda till moralisk stress, vilket om det återkommande sker leda till moralisk ”skada” och st...

Intresset för forskning, utbildning och utveckling inom social hållbarhet, inte minst under kriser, fortsätter att öka. Covid-19 pandemin, kriget i Ukraina, klimatförändringarna, den minskade biologiska mångfalden och potentiella hot såsom politisk polarisering och AI påverkar området social hållbarhet. För tio år sedan etablerades ”Centrum för soc...

Researchers and practitioners increasingly emphasise the need to complement dominant external, technological approaches with an internal focus to support transformation toward sustainability. However, knowledge on how this internal human dimension can support transformation across individual, collective, and systems levels is limited. Our study add...

In this article, we summarize some features of the growing research in mu- sic and health conducted in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The research traditions in the four countries have developed differently and com- plement each other. There is neurobiological and psychophysiological re- search with experimental elements, epidemiological inve...

In this article, we summarize some features of the growing research in mu- sic and health conducted in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The research traditions in the four countries have developed differently and com- plement each other. There is neurobiological and psychophysiological re- search with experimental elements, epidemiological inve...

Research focusing on adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder is un- fortunately scarce. It is therefore difficult to know how music is being used, what its effects are as well as its meaning for the autistic population. In an ongoing doctoral project we are trying to better understand the value and mea- nings of music and to develop music ac...

Subjective experiences of autistic adults remain under-researched, especially in the field of art. To learn more about their uses and functions of music, we interviewed 13 autistic adults and through a hermeneutic-phenomenological analysis found four overarching themes: Well-being, Identity and self-development, Connectedness, and Negative experien...

This case study presents different strategies that were explored by the patient’s mother when her 17-year- old daughter was diagnosed with ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). ME is not widely recognized in the Global as well as the Swedish population at large, and within healthcare, there are no standardize...

What researchers see in pre-school children’s reactions to live classical piano music, and how this knowledge can be interpreted into a broader societal context, is the focus of this study. The specific purpose was to see how a transdisciplinary group of researchers, interpreted 32 pre-school children’s reactions when listening to a short live clas...

There are few studies on how to use art to prepare students, through higher education, to lead a sustainable and healthy working life. In order to enhance and develop the learning environments regarding creativity and health in higher academic education curricula, more studies are needed. Studies link- ing the United Nations’ Sustainable Developmen...

A collaboration between researchers linked to compassion and embodiment from Karolinska Institutet, University of Helsinki and Stanford University has been conducted during recent years. "CoPassion" is a project that took place at various workplaces in Finland led by Professor Anne Birgitta Pessi. A rich body of knowledge has been disseminated, art...

Transition to sustainability is a process that requires change on all levels of society from the physical to the psychological. This review takes an interdisciplinary view of the landscapes of research that contribute to the development of pro-social behaviors that align with sustainability goals, or what we call ‘inner sustainability’. Engaging in...

Through a historical perspective, the overall aim with this study is to deepen the understanding of arts and aesthetics, in relation to health, for the benefi- cial use in higher education programs. Since prehistoric time, mankind has been using different art forms for health reasons. Artwork created by a society is a product of the culture that pr...

Background: Music listening can improve acquisition of new knowledge. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the emotional and cognitive effects of a knowledge concert on the attending audience. Methodology: The audience was asked to complete a Visual Analogue Scale (10 cm) before and after listening to the concert, along five variables:...

Recent technical developments and early clinical examples support that precision medicine has potential to provide novel diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for patients with complex diseases, who are not responding to existing therapies. Those solutions will require integration of genomic data with routine clinical, imaging, sensor, biobank and r...

The purpose of the study is to explore a new research methodology that will improve our understanding of “flow” through indicators of physiological and qualitative state. We examine indicators of “flow” experienced by musicians of a youth string quartet, two women (25, 29) and two men (23, 24). Electrocardiogram (ECG) equipment was used to record h...

Background Choir singing is an activity that engages individuals all over the world with a broad demographic representation. Both qualitative and quantitative studies have examined the benefits of the activity but very few have examined the effects when someone loses access to it and stops singing. Objectives Examining the governmental and organis...

Background: There has been an insufficient amount of studies that examine how academic working life of researchers can be supported. Objective: We examine the use of a nature and art-related activity retreat designed for researchers. The purpose was to evaluate if and how researchers perceived different workshop experiences set in nature as mean...

In this study we examined a case where twelve participants conducted farewell ceremonies for their deceased relatives. Taking a qualitative approach, we used interviews and questionnaires to focus on life stories that involve grieving. Specifically, we asked about experiences of the grief process as related to choice of music. Our results indicate...

Purpose: Interest in the health relevance of music has been growing rapidly, yet few studies have addressed the protective role of music for music professionals themselves. In the current study, we investigated music professionals’ (music teachers, music therapists, musicians and academics) health, particularly their uses of music as a resource for...

Aims: Earlier studies show that participation in mind and body exercises (MBE) is cross-sectionally associated with high levels of depressive symptoms and antidepressants. This study investigates the longitudinal interrelationship between depressive symptoms, MBE and antidepressants. Methods: 3269 men and 4318 women aged 24-74 years participated...

Background: Anecdote suggests that listening to music can help to distract from worries about ongoing life problems. Purpose: In this study we examine the phenomenon and ask, to what extent does music listening alleviate worry, and under what circumstances? Our focus was on the immediate temporary effects. Methodology: We performed four pilot exper...

The drive to learn and engage in music varies among individuals. Global motivation to do something can be intrinsic, for example, the joy and satisfaction in an activity. But motivation behind our action can also be extrinsic, such as the desire for fame, status or increased financial resources. The type of motivation probably influences to what de...

Emotional Effects of Live and Recorded Music in Various Audiences and Listening Situations 􏰈􏰉􏰊􏰋􏰌􏰂􏰍 Abstract: Background: We assume that the emotional response to music would correspond to increased levels of arousal, and that the valence of the music exemplified by sad or joyful music would be reflected in the listener, and that calming music woul...

Background: We assume that the emotional response to music would correspond to increased levels of arousal, and that the valence of the music exemplified by sad or joyful music would be reflected in the listener, and that calming music would reduce anxiety. This study attempts to characterize the emotional responses to different kinds of listening....

In the workplaces of our health-care institutions today, stress and burnout are common issues and pressing ones to be addressed by organizational leaders. The chapter considers how the development of empathy can help to contribute to dealing with this complex issue by easing not simply the symptoms of stress and burnout but addressing one of the ca...

Abstract Background: Studies show that certainty of death may affect time perception and the meaning attributed to time. The central interest of this research is the connection between the perception of time and fairy tales. The aim of the study was to explore the fairy tale method in their delivery of palliative care and how this work is related t...

Cultural, contemplative, and nature- related activities— promising measures for major public health challenges Mental and psychosomatic health problems currently constitute one of the greatest public health issues. Apart from individual suffering, this causes long- term absenteeism and high societal costs. Common mental disorders involve problems w...

Both internal and external stimuli can cause stress, and suboptimal stress management is a major driver of ill health. There are several complex interventions, such as contemplative practices and cultural activities, which facilitate the process of becoming aware of and handling such stimuli. Participation in such activities can facilitate the conn...

The role of music in sustaining resilient and healthy communities – A Nordic perspective. Promote inter-generational meetings between young people and senior citizens - using internet based music videos Online music videos from I-pad, as a mediating element for communication between the youths and the elders, has been studied in a project in Swed...

Methods: The study includes 3,913 men and 4,803 women aged 20-72 who participated in the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH). The respondents were divided into three groups depending on frequency of MBE practice (never/seldom/often). Measures regarding MBE practice, health behaviors, self-rated health, and illnesses were dra...

Physical MBE. Data on physical MBE. (DOCX)

This study aims to identify any differences regarding gender, age, socioeconomic status (SES), self-rated health, perceived stress and the purchase of prescribed drugs among people who practice mind and body exercises (MBE) extensively compared to people who do not. Methods: The study includes 3,913 men and 4,803 women aged 20–72 who participated i...

This study aims to identify any differences regarding gender, age, socioeconomic status (SES), self-rated health, perceived stress and the purchase of prescribed drugs among people who practice mind and body exercises (MBE) extensively compared to people who do not. Methods: The study includes 3,913 men and 4,803 women aged 20–72 who participated i...

Objective: A validated measure to gather patient feedback on physicians’ empathy is not available in Swedish. The objective for this study was to examine the psychometric characteristics of a Swedish version of the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure (widely used in English). Design, setting and patients: The CARE measure was transla...

This paper explores the impact of self-chosen arts-based recreational activities, as opposed to the traditional arts therapy activities, on the well-being of healthcare providers. Three qualitative case studies of programs in which arts-based activities were used to work with healthcare providers, lasting for 10 weeks each, are phenomenological-her...

Alexithymia is characterized by deficits in the ability to identify, differentiate, and describe emotions—abilities that are of importance for social interactions, well-being, and, consequently, also for health. The aim of this study was to investigate whether achievements in cultural activities are associated with alexithymia. Participants from th...

Writer’s block, a common form of procrastination, can have a serious negative impact on an individual’s academic performance. In this case study, a student with writer’s block was interviewed and asked to perform body movements that represented the process of writing a master’s thesis. A micro-phenomenological method was used to investigate the stu...

This article studies the application of a multi-purpose, arts-based intervention for young adults interacting with members of the elderly population who have dementia. The project studied uses online cultural products as a mediating element for communication between the youths and the elders. The project aims to harness the technological sophistica...

This study has explored the relation between dance achievement and alexithymia in a larger Swedish population sample (Swedish Twin Registry) with a study sample of 5431 individuals. Dance achievement (CAQ) was assessed in relation to Alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale, TAS-20) including the three subscales: Difficulty Identifying Feelings (DIF)...

Burnout is common among women in Sweden. Cultural activities, i.e. arts, have benefitted different patient populations and may have potential for treating this group as well. Aim: To evaluate possible health effects of regular cultural activities for women with burnout symptoms with focus on exhaustion level. Methods: 48 women (mean age 54) were ra...

Vad är det som påverkar forskarsamhället och vården att satsa på kultur, mer långsiktigt? Hur kan vi på bästa sätt synliggöra våra forskningsresultat från kulturhälsoområdet, och vad krävs för implementering? Går det i förväg att planera för att kulturhälsoprojekt kan leda till långsiktig förändring? Hur skapar vi synergieffekter mellan kulturhälso...

De senaste decennierna har det skett betydande framsteg i förståelsen av psykosomatiska sjukdomar, inte minst i samspelet mellan psykologi, neurovetenskap, immunologi och endokri­nologi. Denna bok ger dig en uppdatering av de olika koncept som dominerar forskningen samt en ökad förståelse för hur psyko­somatiska tillstånd kan uppstå, diagnosticeras...

This exploratory study stems from a meditation exercise in contemplative inquiry with transdisciplinary researchers. A master's student with writers block was asked to perform body movements reflecting a thesis writing process over time. An interview with a phenomenological hermeneutic method was used to uncover the significance of the student's ex...

Objective: To examine relationships between work-based cultural activities and mental employee health in working Swedes. Hypothesis: A positive relationship between frequent cultural activity at work and good employee health was expected. Research design: Random sample of working Swedish men and women in three waves, 2006, 2008 and 2010, on av...

a b s t r a c t The healing function of theater is reflected in all human cultures. Today, therapists and scientists work with psychodrama and drama therapy, often describing theater as the art form closest to life itself. In a unique cooperation between professional actors and a dance movement therapist/pain researcher, patients with fibromyalgia...

The healing function of theater is reflected in all human cultures. Today, therapists and scientists work with psychodrama and drama therapy, often describing theater as the art form closest to life itself. In a unique cooperation between professional actors and a dance movement therapist/pain researcher, patients with fibromyalgia have first been...

This study evaluates if verbally oriented scales are as effective as the visual instruments of self-figure drawing and video interpretation in detecting treatment responses after 6 months of dance/movement therapy in fibromyalgia patients.The self-figure drawing and video interpretation technique captured treatment effects that were not seen on ver...

This thesis presents hormonal, emotional, physical and visual status changes in female fibromyalgia (FMS) patients after treatment with the Creative Art therapy; dance/movement therapy, compared to controls. FMS is a syndrome of chronic pain involving musculoskeletal aches, stiffness and pain where perturbations in the stress-axis and high scores o...

This study describes the measurement of stress hormones in relation to the effect of dance/movement therapy as interpreted by patients from viewing their movement patterns before and 8 months after the completion of treatment. Fibromyalgia patients (FMS) suffer from longlasting generalized pain and other physical and psychological symptoms such as...

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a disorder with musculoskeletal pain as well as many other psychological and physical symptoms. Up-to-date treatment strategies for this disorder often have only limited effects. In order to develop more effective and adequate treatment tools, a phenomenological-hermeneutic study inspired by Paul Ricoeur was used. FMS...