Bedside theatre performance and its effects on hospitalised children's well-being

This article reports on practice-based pilot research being undertaken at Birmingham Children's Hospital in England on the impact of bedside theatre performance on hospitalised children's well-being. It discusses the process of creating theatre for sick children, connecting with the hospital and working within the hospital tight routines, dealing with ethics, working with theatre artists and performing to children bedside. It also reports on evidence collected by questionnaire and interviews about the perceived benefits of bedside theatre by children and their parent/carers. This emphasis on the process is appropriate for theatre practitioners, arts therapists and clinical staff who work with hospitalised children

The impact of music festival attendance on young people's psychological and social well being

Although the social, emotional, physical and cognitive benefits of engagement in music are well known, little research has been conducted on the psychological benefits of music in the context of music festivals. This article draws on theoretical constructs from the field of positive psychology to interpret the impact of music festival attendance on participants' psychological and social well-being. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from a focus group and questionnaire survey with young festival-goers aged 18-29 years. Four facets of the music festival experience were identified that were associated with well-being outcomes. These are explored and discussed with reference both to participants' focus group comments and statistical analysis of questionnaire responses. A conceptual model is presented in order to guide further research in this area, and enable both festival organizers and attendees to take optimal advantage of the potential of music festivals to impact positively on young adults' psychological and social well-being

Art in health and identity: visual narratives of older Chinese immigrants to New Zealand

This paper explores older Chinese immigrants visual narratives on the value and impact of paintings beyond aesthetic merit and the role art plays in their health, wellbeing and identity construction. Immigration to a new culture in old age gives rise to experiences of biographical disruption and status-discrepancy, which often invokes isolation, anxiety, and a sense of dislocation and loss. Findings reveal that art-making aids the participants in addressing biographical disruption and status-discrepancy and appreciating the richness of multiplicities of the self. Art also positively influences the participants health and wellbeing when they live in a new culture in their later lives