Health & social care in the community
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Health Soc Care Community · Dec 2008
Evaluating the impact of participatory art projects for people with mental health needs.
Participatory art projects for people with mental health needs typically claim outcomes such as improvements in confidence, self-esteem, social participation and mental health. However, such claims have rarely been subjected to robust outcome research. This paper reports outcomes from a survey of 44 female and 18 male new art project participants attending 22 art projects in England, carried out as part of a national evaluation. ⋯ Positive impressions of the impact of arts were significantly associated with improvement on all three measures, but the largest effect was for empowerment (P = 0.002) rather than mental health or social inclusion. This study suggests that arts participation positively benefits people with mental health difficulties. Arts participation increased levels of empowerment and had potential to impact on mental health and social inclusion.
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Health Soc Care Community · Dec 2008
Formal support of stroke survivors and their informal carers in the community: a cohort study.
This cohort study, aims to explore formal care provision to stroke survivors and their informal carers in the community in the UK. An initial cohort of 105 cohabitant carers of first-time stroke patients was recruited while the stroke patient was in hospital. Structured face-to-face interviews were carried out with carers prior to discharge of the stroke patient home, at 6 weeks after discharge, and 15 months after stroke. ⋯ Carer distress is common, yet not currently a factor influencing support provision. Formal care provided adapts with time reflecting the importance of quality of support from friends and family rather than quantity of informal supporters. These factors should be taken into consideration when planning and providing formal support for stroke survivors and their carers.