Doctors Prescribe Art to Enhance Health

In a Swiss pilot project regional authorities are covering the costs of "museum prescriptions" issued by doctors for patients who could benefit from visits to any of the town's museums as part of their treatment.

A 2019 World Health Organization study reports that arts can boost mental health, reduce the impact of trauma and lower the risk of cognitive decline, frailty and premature mortality, in addition to other health benefits.

"If successful, local officials could expand the program to other artistic activities like theater or dance, (Neuchatel council member Julie ) Courcier Delafontaine said. The Swiss national health care system doesn't cover culture as a means of therapy, but she hopes it might one day, if the results are positive enough.

Marianne de Reynier Nevsky, the cultural mediation manager in the town of 46,000 who helped devise the program, said it built on a similar idea rolled out at the Fine Arts Museum in Montreal, Canada, in 2019" according to APNews.