The combination of senior services and art activities has gradually developed in
Taiwan in recent years. More and more social welfare organizations are trying to
improve the physical and mental state of their clients through painting-related activities.
The service targets include the elderly, children, people with physical and mental
disabilities, and people who suffere from physical and mental trauma. This non-medical
approach to promote the health and well-being of patients or of those in need of help is
called social prescription, as opposed to medical prescription. In some advanced
countries, primary care physicians prescribe or refer individuals to the care, leading to
the service being termed as social prescription. The main model is for community
groups or non-profit organizations to provide personalized services to patients or those
in need, so that they can achieve mental and physical health. On a macro level, social
prescription can promote community well-being and reduce social exclusion. This study
aims to understand the feasibility of arts prescription in elderly care services, hoping that
the research findings will provide new directions for eldercare.
The study has found that the arts promote health, well-being, quality of life, and
clinical outcomes, and advocates that the arts should be integrated with health, health
care service delivery, health care environments, and the work of healthcare professionals.
Support should also be given to proposals that include relevant stakeholders in arts and
health programs. The study suggests that the integration of arts prescriptions with
elderly services could be modeled after the Long-term Care Ten-year Pilot Program. The relevant authority allocates funding to implement the program at a strategically-selected
community. Through signed agreements, the elderly individuals are referred to suitable
service providers. There should also be standardized methods to evaluate program
outcomes. Supporting measures include outreach to medical and cultural sectors, as well
as public awareness campaigns, where the latter can understand the public's views on the
recognition and acceptance of arts prescriptions.