Journal of Health Care and Research

Journal of Health Care and Research

Yu Nishikiori¹, Masahiro Bando¹, Akiyo Yoshioka¹, Hiroshi Bando^1,2iD*
1Integrative Medicine Japan (IMJ), Shikoku Island division, Tokushima, Japan
²Medical Research/Tokushima University, Tokushima, Japan

Corresponding Author: Hiroshi Bando ^{ORCID iD}
Address: Tokushima University /Medical Research, Nakashowa 1-61, Tokushima 770-0943, Japan.
Received date: 13 February 2025; Accepted date: 11 March 2025; Published date: 18 March 2025

Citation: Nishikiori Y, Bando M, Yoshioka A, Bando H. General Research Perspectives with Human Spirit in Wider Range for Current Art Therapy. J Health Care and Research. 2025 Mar 18;6(1):16-19.

Copyright © 2025 Nishikiori Y, Bando M, Yoshioka A, Bando H. This is an open-access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited.

Keywords: Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Medical Practice, Future Health, Literature

Abstract

In actual medical practice and research, some factors are indispensable, such as medical practice, art therapy, and various research. These factors will be combined, leading to future health or well-being. These activities have some groups for publication. They include literature for writing, description, storytelling, art for artworks, artistic performance, art therapy, music for therapy, activity, treatment education, and physicals for art dance, play, and drama. Measuring future health would be important and includes physical, mental, and social aspects and behaviors. Future research on art therapy in healthcare will show combined approaches associated with various evidence in RCTs.

Commentary

In our actual medical practice and research, several staff members have provided various treatments and care to patients with various diseases or problems. Among them, some factors are indispensable, such as medical practice, art therapy, and various research [1]. These factors will be combined, leading to future health or well-being (Fig-1). Among these activities, some groups exist for publication in art activities. They are:
i) Literature: some writing, description, or storytelling for specific traumatic or emotional events [2].
ii) Art: art therapy, artworks, artistic performance [3].
iii) Music: music therapy, musical activities, music health treatment, and education [4].
iv) Physicals: art dance, physical activity, play, and drama (Fig-2).

Fig-1: Relationships among Medicine, Art and Research

Fig-2: Three aspects for art activities

Health has several aspects. Measuring health is important and includes physical, mental, and social aspects and behaviors. Furthermore, it adds cognitive function and stressful situations, such as coping with grave circumstances.

In the world of art therapy, health conditions have been rather difficult to evaluate compared to conventional medicine. Consequently, health-beneficial factors are not easy to measure, particularly social matters or quality of life for various people [5]. When reviewing many pieces of literature, general well-being seems to be a soft measurement of health. On the other hand, different cultural assumptions have been found in non-Western regimens or complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments. Alternative views of health exist in several areas. In medical practice, when cooperating with people of other cultures, some necessary cultural translation will be required.

Categorizing artistic activities has been rather difficult since several interventions may comprise various factors [6]. For example, listening to music is often used to facilitate artwork or writing, and photography is usually combined with narrative explanation. Apparent disciplinary differences exist in how art therapy is perceived to work. Beneficial aspects of art have been reflected in the evaluation of health types, yet there is often a poor choice of outcome measures. For example, dance therapy can improve body coordination and balance abilities in addition to enhancing social connections [7]. Among these, improved communication can be observed and measured over a short period. In contrast, improvements in physical ability require a longer time for evaluation. Some reports have focused on physiological measurements as outcomes, but few have described benefits related to social and psychological aspects. We must pay attention to previous trends in medical reporting. Many research studies acknowledge psychological and social markers, but their purposes were not adequately defined. In research on dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), cognitive measurements are unlikely to change over a short period. Generally, medically based reports have lacked a satisfactory conceptual framework concerning the definition of health.

When health is considered in a broad sense, the following four points can be addressed:
i) Health is a standard and conventionally known set of clinical measurements of physical, psychological, and mental illness [8].
ii) From a broad definition, health is a general measure of quality of life. In recent years, people with lower social and economic status tend to experience health problems earlier than those with higher social classes. In the end, they tend to suffer from more serious illnesses, have a higher number of complications, and show a shorter average life expectancy. Thus, to reduce the effects of aging, it is recommended that people develop strategies to understand, manage, and cope with health problems. If the effects of aging can be reduced, health will somewhat improve, stress will be lessened, and some pain will be alleviated. In this way, if personal health problems can be resolved, the possibility of achieving a better quality of life will increase [9].
iii) How is patient behavior evaluated? In healthy individuals, behavior is rarely assessed unless a particular problem arises [10]. On the other hand, cognitive impairments can be problematic. This includes dementia and/or MCI, in which case behavior becomes a subject of discussion. In actual clinical practice, if a patient’s ability to interact with caregivers or researchers is questionable, their behavior, consciousness, and responsiveness are evaluated first.
iv) There are various axes of health-related evaluation. The conceptual frameworks vary greatly depending on the field. Research may be conducted on each factor individually or in combination. Based on previous research areas, the most frequently studied fields have been psychology, psychiatry, music therapy, and medicine. In the field of art therapy, the most commonly reported artistic activities include writing, music, art, and dance [11]. The most commonly studied health conditions were mental health, followed by cognitive function, stress, and cancer.

In the research area of art therapies, 12,000 related papers were studied, from which 92 reports were selected for summarized data [12]. Most research was conducted in the UK and the US. The most common themes included mental health problems, followed by cognitive/MCI issues and stressful conditions. As art therapists are involved in current research, the clinical efficacy of art as a medium is expected. Future research on art therapy in healthcare will show combined approaches associated with various evidence from RCTs.

Research on music and music therapy has been more prevalent than in other areas. Reading sheet music and playing a musical instrument, such as the piano, is a complex artistic activity that involves multisensory and motor integration [13]. Music also affects emotional states by enhancing motivation. Studies on musical training in elderly people have shown that piano lessons induce positive mood changes, reduce depression, and improve both physical and psychological quality of life (QOL). Consequently, musical involvement is a useful intervention for the elderly to promote cognitive reserve and enhance well-being. Tempo is a crucial musical element that affects human emotions during music listening [14]. A comparative study was conducted using slow, medium, and fast tempos between musicians and non-musicians. In the arousal dimension, the mean score for medium tempo was the highest among the three. Stronger activation was found from fast music in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG). Consequently, music influences various neurological and psychological aspects in humans [15,16].

In summary, research perspectives in art therapy were described. When an art therapist is involved in art research, general information and potential effects are more practically explained [12]. Art therapy includes broad fields, and combinations of therapies have been observed, such as music therapy and aromatherapy [17]. Furthermore, massage therapy can be applied for additional beneficial clinical effects [18]. In future art therapy research, people will gain a better understanding of various benefits from both RCTs and qualitative perspectives.

Conflict of Interest

The authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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