
Stephen CliftCanterbury Christ Church University · Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health
Stephen Clift
BA (Hons) PhD
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132
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Introduction
I am Professor Emeritus in the Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health at Canterbury Christ Church University and Visiting Professor in the International Centre for Community Music, York St John University
Publications
Publications (132)
Introduction
Arts and health practice and research has expanded rapidly since the turn of the millennium. A World Health Organization scoping review of a large body of evidence claims positive health benefits from arts participation and makes recommendations for policy and implementation of arts for health initiatives. A more recent scoping review...
Background:
This paper considers weaknesses in a study by Cohen et al. (2006) on the impacts of community singing on health. These include high demand characteristics, lack of attention to attrition, flawed statistical analysis, and measurement. Nevertheless, the study is uncritically cited, in evidence reviews, with findings taken at face value....
We examine a highly cited randomized controlled trial on dance‐movement therapy with adolescent girls with mild depression and examine its treatment in 14 evidence reviews and meta‐analyses of dance research. We demonstrate substantial limitations in the trial which seriously undermine the conclusions reached regarding the effectiveness of dance mo...
We describe work-in-progress to conduct a systematic review of research on the effects of arts-based programmes for mental health in young people. We have searched for relevant studies through major databases and screened extant systematic reviews for additional research which meets our inclusion criteria. We have reservations, however, regarding b...
Compared to other health fields, the discipline of Arts and Health is relatively new, therefore a glossary is useful to facilitate communication and to clarify terminology and concepts from which evidence-based research, comparative studies, reviews, policy, practice and programs can be developed.
This chapter explores, from the authors’ combined perspectives, how musical care can be employed as a strategy of health and social care in older adulthood. The approach to musical care in this chapter reflects the authors’ interdisciplinary stance and their shared belief that music touches upon aspects of care at micro (within individuals), meso (...
This book provides insight informed by interdisciplinary thinking on musical care throughout the life course. Musical care refers to the role of music—music listening as well as music-making—in supporting any aspect of people’s developmental or health needs: for example, physical and mental health, cognitive and behavioural development, and interpe...
We describe work in progress to conduct a systematic review of research on effects of arts-based programs for mental health in young people. We are at the stage of searching for relevant studies through major databases and screening extant systematic reviews for additional research which meet our inclusion criteria. At this stage, however, concerns...
This paper outlines the growth of interest in the UK in the social and health impacts of the arts from the late 1990s onwards. It highlights the early critiques of claims made about such impacts by Belfiore and Mirza (Mirza, 2006a). Attention is given to two recent commissioned reviews of arts and health research, by the World Health Organization (...
A significant consequence of the COVID-19 lockdown measures introduced by the United Kingdom government has been the abrupt halting of face-to-face singing sessions for both amateur and professional singing groups. The detrimental effect of the lack of face-to-face singing is perhaps particularly experienced by those engaging in singing for wellbei...
Background
General practitioners (GPs) and other health professionals have a key role in signposting their patients to appropriate opportunities for engaging in arts and creative activities for the health and wellbeing benefits they may bring. Training is needed to ensure that GPs are aware of the evidence supporting the role of the arts, and the l...
Aim
The aim of this research was to explore the transferability and effectiveness of the English Silver Song Clubs model for older people in a different social and cultural context, that is, in the capital city of Italy, Rome.
Methods
A single condition, pretest, post-test design was implemented. Participants completed the following two questionna...
Social isolation and cognitive decline are major issues affecting older adults and evidence based approaches are needed to address these. Live Wires is an 8-session group music program uniquely designed to enhance both social connectedness and cognitive function in older adults through a combination of cognitive 'warm up' exercises, group singing,...
Background: Falls and related injuries in the older population are major public health issues requiring more innovative and effective solutions. This paper reports an evaluation of the Dance to Health (DtH) programme which integrates evidence-based physiotherapy falls-prevention exercises into creative dance.
Methods: Sixty-seven participants took...
Research on choirs and other forms of group singing has been conducted for several decades and there has been a recent focus on the potential health and well-being benefits, particularly in amateur singers. Experimental, quantitative, and qualitative studies show evidence of a range of biopsychosocial and well-being benefits to singers; however, th...
This chapter provides an overview of international research evidence on the value of singing for the well-being and health of older people. It draws on a number of recent systematic reviews of the literature on singing, health and well-being, especially studies published over the last ten years. Particular attention is given to the value of singing...
Published evidence for the role of participatory art in supporting health and well‐being is growing. The Arts on Prescription model is one vehicle by which participatory art can be delivered. Much of the focus of Arts on Prescription has been on the provision of creative activities for people with mental health needs. This Arts on Prescription prog...
Background:
A growing body of research has found that participating in choir singing can increase positive emotions, reduce anxiety and enhance social bonding. Consequently, group singing has been proposed as a social intervention for people diagnosed with mental health problems. However, it is unclear if group singing is a suitable and effective...
International research has broadly reported positive effects of singing on health. Choral singing, a social activity, can contribute to health and social and emotional well-being through enhancing individual and social variables, such as a sense of motivation, personal worth, concentration, and social engagement. This cross-sectional study aimed to...
Aim:
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major public health issue which is irreversible and progressive, but previous research suggests that singing may have beneficial effects. The aim of this study was to establish the views of participants with COPD taking part in a singing for better breathing programme.
Methods:
This was a de...
Background: Late diagnosis of HIV is detrimental to patients, resulting in increased morbidity, mortality, and increased potential for onward transmission. The prevalence of HIV in both the UK and France continues to rise, particularly in ‘non-traditional’ groups such a heterosexuals and older people, yet at least 20% of those infected with HIV do...
While the benefits of music to people’s mental health have long been recognized, the process of how it works requires further investigation. This paper is based on the results of a community-based music project offered to a group of mental health service users by a Hong Kong social service centre. A six-dimensional framework, which contains emotion...
The aim of the current study was to further test the feasibility of setting up a network of community singing groups for people with COPD to run over the course of ten months from end of September 2015 to end of July 2016. Recruitment took place over the period April-September 2015. The study involved two cohorts, assessed in September 2015 and Jan...
The aim of the current study was to further test the feasibility of setting up a network of community singing
groups for people with COPD to run over the course of ten months from end of September 2015 to end of July
2016. Recruitment took place over the period April-September 2015. The study involved two cohorts, assessed
in September 2015 and Jan...
Purpose
Clift and Morrison (2011) report that weekly singing over eight months for people with enduring mental health issues led to clinically important reductions in mental distress. The purpose of this paper is to test the robustness of the earlier findings.
Design/methodology/approach
Four community singing groups for people with mental health...
Purpose
Clift and Morrison (2011) report that weekly singing over eight months for people with enduring mental health issues led to clinically important reductions in mental distress. The present study tested the robustness of the earlier findings.
Design
Four community singing groups for people with mental health issues ran weekly from November 2...
There is growing interest in Singing for Lung Health (SLH), an approach where patients with respiratory disease take part in singing groups, intended to improve their condition. A consensus group was convened in early 2016 to address issues including: the specific features that make SLH distinct from other forms of participation in singing; the exi...
Paper published in Public Health doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2016.03.022
An account is provided of a UK national seminar series on Arts, Health and Wellbeing funded by the Economic and Social Research Council during 2012–13. Four seminars were organised addressing current issues and challenges facing the field. Details of the programme and its outputs are available online. A central concern of the seminar programme was...
Objectives:
A survey to explore the extent to which a choir programme associated with the British Armed Forces provides benefits of wives and partners and families of military personnel.
Study design:
A cross-sectional survey.
Method:
Online self-completion questionnaires to survey 464 choir members and 173 committee members who were also part...
From the forward by Shirley Cramer, CEO, Royal Society for Public Health:
The editors of this book, themselves leading academics and advocates for the role of the arts in improving health, have brought together an extraordinary group of eminent contributors. Academics and practitioners from across the globe highlight the international nature of the...
This volume is the first of its kind to offer a global perspective on the value of the creative arts in relation to health and wellbeing. Historically speaking, the role of the arts and the artist in society has been the subject of debate and controversy from classical times to the present day – from the reflections of Plato and Aristotle in Ancien...
Reports findings from a community singing for mental health and wellbeing in West Kent and Medway, South East England
Background
As the population ages, older people account for a greater proportion of the health and social care budget. Whereas some research has been conducted on the use of music therapy for specific clinical populations, little rigorous research has been conducted looking at the value of community singing on the mental health-related quality of l...
Current evidence suggests that participatory arts activities, and particularly group singing, may contribute to the well-being of older people. However, there is currently a paucity of prospective research from the participant perspective. This qualitative study nested within a randomized controlled trial aimed to assess participants' perspectives...
This mixed-method study investigated the impact of a community group singing project on the psychological well-being of school children in the London area. Self-rated measures of psychological well-being and identity as a singer were administered to 60 children aged 7–11 at three time points. A teacher-rated measure of
psychological difficulties wa...
Findings from an online survey of members of military wives choirs in the UK and overseas.
Singing groups have been established in various hospitals as quasi-therapeutic social activities. The current study addresses the realization of these activities from the singing leaders' perspectives in these specific contexts. Standardized telephone interviews were conducted with 20 singing leaders (14 female). Transcriptions of records were vali...
Background
COPD is an umbrella term for a number of specific conditions (primarily bronchitis and emphysema) leading to irreversible airflow obstruction. COPD is characterised by ‘a spiral of decline’: ‘As COPD progresses, patients fail to exercise, feel depressed, and experience low self-esteem.’ In England, approximately 835,000 people have bee...
Aim The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of weekly community singing for people with COPD and to assess impact on lung function, functional capacity, breathlessness and quality of life. Method An uncontrolled observational study of a weekly group singing programme was undertaken over the period September 2011 to June 2012. The St Ge...
Existing randomized controlled trials within the health field suggest that the concept of randomization is not always well understood and that feelings of disappointment may occur when participants are not placed in their preferred arm. This may affect a study's rigour and ethical integrity if not addressed. We aimed to test whether these issues ap...
Background: Chronic obstructive airways disease (COPD) is a long term respiratory condition with a high prevalence rate and associated with considerable physical and psychological morbidity. This research aims to examine the perceptions of people with COPD taking part in regular group singing, in terms of feasibility, acceptability and effectivenes...
From 2000 onwards, an increasing body of research has examined the potential value of choral singing for wellbeing
and health
. This chapter critically reviews research on this issue and considers its contributions and shortcomings. A particular bias highlighted is the greater numbers of women than men in samples investigated together with the lack...
There is growing international acceptance of the notion that participation in the creative arts can be beneficial for well-being and health. For over 30 years practical arts for health projects have been developed to support health care and promote health and well-being in communities. An increasing body of evaluation and research evidence lends we...
Purpose
The aim of this study is to explore the benefits of choral singing for mental wellbeing and health as perceived by a cross‐national sample of amateur choral singers.
Design/methodology/approach
Data consisted of written responses to open‐ended questions. These were derived from 169 participants selected from a larger dataset reporting high...
This chapter begins with an overview of non-clinical studies involving existing community choirs and singing groups or which have established singing groups for purposes of research. The focus then shifts to therapeutically oriented research investigating the value of singing for people with specific health or social care needs. The chapter conclud...
This article considers some of the methodological issues faced by a team working in the emerging field of participatory arts and health research. It argues that, in order to optimize research rigour, there is a need to address four fundamental issues. First, researchers should define
the scope of the art(s) under study (in terms of domain, level of...
Parry (1983) presents a British version of the Attitudes towards Women Scale (Spence et al., 1973) and reports data for middle-class and working-class women. In the study described here the AWS-B was administered to four groups of males and females aged between 16 and 21 years. The groups comprised 39 male and 27 female trainee engineers, 59 female...
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the development and evaluation of an innovative community singing initiative with mental health services users and supporters in East Kent, UK.
Design/methodology/approach
A network of seven singing groups was established between September 2009 and June 2010. The choirs met weekly in three terms with breaks for...
The manual to the Infant Rating Scale (Lindsay, 1981) discusses the reliability of the scale only in terms of test-retest data. The authors argue that information on inter-rater reliability is at least as important to the test user as the test-retest data and they provide an indication of the scale's reliability based on ratings given independently...
The growth in numbers of older people represents a considerable cost to health and social care services in the United Kingdom. There is an acknowledged need to address issues of social exclusion and both the physical and mental health of this age group. In recent years there has been much interest in the potential contribution of the arts to the he...
Interest in the value of the arts for health promotion and healthcare has grown considerably over the last twenty years throughout the world. The use of arts for health is not the same as creative arts therapies in which trained practitioners engage with individuals in a therapeutic process through the arts in clinical settings, although arts thera...
The current levels of psychosocial distress in society are significant, as evidenced by the number of prescribed antidepressants and the numbers of working days lost as a result of stress and anxiety. There is a growing body of evidence that active involvement in creative activities provides a wide range of benefits, including the promotion of well...
Past research has suggested positive influences of musical experiences on people's health and well-being. Empirical work has focused on musical activities such as listening and singing, while neglecting the potential effects of dancing. In the present study, 475 non-professional adult dancers completed an online survey, which sought to evaluate the...
This paper provides a systematic mapping of existing research literature on group singing, wellbeing and health. It covers both community singing groups, groups especially established for research purposes and group singing used as a music therapy intervention for conditions such as chronic lung disease, Parkinson's disease and dementias. A systema...
Stephen Clift examines findings from the Sidney De Haan Research Centre which suggest that the arts—such as music—can have a positive influence on mental and physical wellbeing
There is an emerging body of research focusing on the value of singing, as a leisure activity, for well-being and health and as a way to cope with life's stresses. Using grounded theory, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a community sample of 16 participants involved in a number of singing groups who had experienced an adverse life eve...
The Silver Song Club Project provides an opportunity for older people to come together regularly and participate in a programme of singing and music making, and is based on the principle that singing and music have the potential to benefit health and well-being. An evaluation was undertaken
to investigate the development of the Silver Song Club Pro...
Music has the power to elicit memories and emotion, and significant pieces of music can become linked to important events in our lives. Listening to music and actively participating in music-making can help to promote positive mood and a sense of wellbeing. Stephen Clift explores music’s potential.
Aim:
Government policy has highlighted the need for inclusive education for people with long-term mental health needs. As a starting point, the aim of this study was to assess the extent to which further education (FE) colleges in the south east of England provide supported education for people with mental health needs, and the extent to which the...
Over 600 choral singers drawn from English choirs completed the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire to measure physical, psychological, social and environmental wellbeing, and a twelve-item wellbeing and choral singing scale. They also provided accounts of the effects of choral singing on quality
of life, wellbeing and physical health in response to open que...
This metadata relates to an electronic version of an article published in Arts & Health, Volume 1, Issue 1, March 2009, pages 6-35. Arts & Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice is available online at informaworldTM at http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a909028883 This paper provides an overview of t...
This article evaluates the impact of an innovative early years music project developed on the Isle of Wight, UK, which aimed to enhance the role of music-making in educational settings for three- to five-year-old children. The MusicStart Project designed an original model for training practitioners working in such settings to increase their confide...
Purpose This paper reviews the literature for evaluation studies that might fulfil the criteria of evidence-based medicine (EBM) in the specialism of ‘supported education for people with long-term mental health needs’, with a view to justifying the efficacy of these initiatives and attracting the associated funding.
Design and methods A review of t...
The paper assesses the validity of Antonovsky's (1996) assertion that health promotion should use the salutogenic model of health to guide practice, by drawing on the results of an evaluation of a supported further education programme for people with long-term mental health needs. Three consecutive cohorts of further education (FE) students with a...
Over 600 choral singers drawn from English choirs completed the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire to measure physical, psychological, social, and environmental wellbeing, and a 12-item “effects of choral singing scale.” They also provided accounts of the effects of choral singing on quality of life, wellbeing, and physical health in response to open questi...
The traditional curriculum in nurse education has tended to emphasize the acquisition of knowledge and practical skills and to ignore, for the most part, close examination of the social and moral dimensions of the nuree's role. The authors suggest that we ought to include a much more substantial consideration of moral issues in the nurse education...
Purpose – The purpose of this research is to report on an evaluation of a programme of supported education in a Further Education context for students with long-term mental health problems, based on Antonovsky's Salutogenic model of health. The students are referred by the Community Mental Health Team. Design/methodology/approach – Three consecutiv...
Changes in government policies threaten to remove an important source of funding that enables people with mental health problems to be supported to enter and progress from further education to employment and university. Ian Morrison and Stephen Clift describe one such scheme whose future is in doubt, and the journeys undertaken by some of the peopl...
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