Culture on prescription is developing in Norrbotten

Research shows that culture can improve the well-being of people with mental illness. “Our task is to find ways to collaborate between the culture and healthcare sectors,” says Elias Sandling, project worker in the large EU project Culture on Prescription in the Baltic Sea Region.

Physical activity on prescription, FaR, and Nature on prescription, NaR, are already used in Norrbotten to improve people's physical and mental health. Now it's time for a similar concept in yet another area: Culture on prescription, KuR.

The three-year EU project Arts on prescription has been initiated and led by Odense Municipality in Denmark. In addition to Denmark, six countries around the Baltic Sea are participating, with Region Norrbotten and Sunderby Folk High School as the Swedish representatives.

– We, in turn, have collaborated with the pedagogical network Culture for Young People and Children in Norrbotten, KUBN, and the Coordination Association of Southern Norrbotten, says Karin Erixon, who works 50 percent in the project and represents the cultural side.

The region and the folk high school

Susanne Lindquist works in the Neighborhood division, where she is, among other things, the coordinator for the county's 38 rehabilitation coordinators in primary care and community psychiatry. She spends 15 percent of her working time on the project.

“The rehabilitation coordinators meet patients with mental health issues, among other things, and already use Physical Activity on Prescription. In the same way, Culture on Prescription could be helpful in their work,” she says.

In addition to Karin Erixon and Susanne Lindquist from Region Norrbotten, the project group includes Elias Sandling and Catharina Ljungcrantz. They are employed at Sunderby Folk High School and each work 30 percent on the EU project. The Folk High School is a cultural hub in the county; art educators and aspiring artists are trained here, among other things.

Development and implementation

They see the fact that the four project staff represent several activities – healthcare, culture and education – as both a strength and a necessity.

– Culture on prescription has previously been tried in other EU countries and elsewhere in Sweden. Now we will develop the operation, find forms of collaboration and figure out how the concept can be implemented in regular operations, explains Elias Sandling.

Participants in the three pilot groups will both consume culture and create themselves, for example in clay.

The idea is that eight to ten people from Luleå or Boden will form an initial pilot group, with meetings twice a week for eight to ten weeks. During the meetings, the participants will both experience culture as consumers and work on their own creations.

– They can be accompanied to a concert, an art exhibition, a museum or something else, and together with others take part in culture. They also create their own art, dance and crafts, such as ceramics, and get an experience that way, says Karin Erixon.

Questions to answer

The first round will be carried out in the autumn. This will be followed by an evaluation period, before the next group starts in spring 2024. In autumn 2024, it will be time for the third and final pilot group within the framework of the project. The groups will be led by trained cultural educators and will target people with mild to moderate mental health problems.

Exactly how the selection will be made has not yet been determined.

– We are in the preparation phase and there are still some decisions to be made. But as I said, it is not to test whether the method we are doing here works, we already know that it does. Instead, it is about finding forms of cooperation. How do we designate a place, how do we talk to each other between the sectors, how do we follow up, who pays for what – these are the kinds of things we need to find solutions for, says Catharina Ljungcrantz.

In the project, Karin Erixon, Elias Sandling, Catharina Ljungcrantz, Susanne Lindquist will investigate
what can facilitate the introduction of Culture on Prescription in society.

A handbook

When Culture on Prescription has been tried before, it was precisely the transition from project form to an established operation that posed an obstacle. In addition to the cultural sector and healthcare, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, the Public Employment Service and various municipal bodies may need to be involved.

In the EU project, the parties in the different countries will jointly develop a model, which can then be adapted to local conditions.

– We will also develop a practical handbook, a guide, which will make it easier for anyone who wants to start with Culture on Prescription in the future, says Catharina Ljungcrantz.

The project includes seminars and meetings with other participants in the seven countries. In addition, Region Norrbotten/Sunderby Folk High School will collaborate with other regions in Sweden to spread the knowledge further.

The challenge is to achieve collaboration between the healthcare sector and the cultural sector. “The main purpose of the project
is to develop a working model,” says Elias Sandling, on the left.

Community

The World Health Organization, WHO, has compiled a report of research studies that show that art and cultural activities can contribute to physical and mental health (see link below). In Sweden, prescribed culture has been tried in several places. One county that has come a long way in this area is Jönköping, where Paula Bergman has initiated Culture on Referral and is also active as a researcher.

Karin Erixon is convinced that there is a healing power in culture of various kinds.

– I work with artists, dancers, craftsmen and educators and know what art and culture can mean in a person's life. Culture gives us a different language to look at the world and opens up to other perspectives. At the same time, we have heard presentations from projects in Denmark that show that community with others is very important for the participants in the groups. This includes drinking coffee with the others before or after the activities, she says.

A tool in healthcare

Susanne Lindquist looks forward to the day when culture will be seen as a natural part of healthcare.

– When I presented the project to the region's rehabilitation coordinators, I have only been met with positive reactions. This will be another tool that they can use to help people feel better.

An important aspect is that it is about cultural experiences together with others.

– As a physiotherapist, I have worked a lot with group activities and know that it often has a positive impact on the individual. There is value in meeting others in the same situation, while also getting to try things you may have never done before. The cultural activities are a way to break the isolation that often follows sick leave, she says.

Text and photo: Ulrika Englund

Facts: Culture on prescription

• The Arts on prescription project is an EU initiative within the framework of Interreg Baltic Sea Region.
• The aim is to help authorities, cultural institutions and healthcare providers engage people with mental illness in social cultural activities, thereby improving their mental health.
• The project is divided into three phases, which in some cases overlap. The preparatory phase includes an exchange of experience and knowledge between practitioners in the seven countries. In phase two, the work is carried out with the participants in groups, who will both take part in culture as consumers and work practically. In phase three, the work is compiled and the results are disseminated and implemented.
• The total budget for the entire project is 3,51 million euros, of which Interreg Baltic Sea accounts for 2,81 million euros.