Art for better health and wellbeing

Bridging comic art and research: lessons from an interdisciplinary collaboration project in a palliative care context

The Dutch graphic novel Naasten, about palliative family caregiving, is the product of an interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers and two comic artists. This paper aims to present lessons, reflections and practical recommendations for other researchers interested in adopting (comic) arts-based research methods, in which artistic methods are used as novel ways for generating, analysing, interpreting or representing research data.Our project started with the goal of translation: we aimed at representing research findings into a more accessible, visual and textual form to stimulate discussion and reflection outside academia on moral challenges in family care. This was inspired by comics' hypothesised potential to show complex and embodied experiences, thus enabling more understanding in readers and offering powerful science communication tools. Although this goal of translation was realised in our project, we learnt along the way that the project could have benefited from a more explicit focus on interdisciplinarity from the start and by monitoring the interdisciplinary learning opportunities throughout the project. The following issues are important for any art-research collaboration: (1) an interest in and acknowledgement of each other's (potentially diverging) aims and roles: all parties should-from the start-commit themselves to interdisciplinary collaboration and to exploring the added value of using each other's methods, thereby finding a common methodological ground and language; (2) a continuous discussion of the sometimes contrasting approaches between artists and researchers: differences in using theory and story may result in different criteria for creating good art. When balancing scientific and aesthetic aims, the trustworthiness of the art work should remain an important criterion; (3) an awareness of the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration to offering new perspectives on one's scientific data collection and analysis, for example, providing other conceptualisations or indicating blind spots, provided that artists are involved in the early phases of research.

"I'm making a positive change in my life": a mixed method evaluation of a well-being tertiary education unit

ISSUE ADDRESSED

Mental health disorders (MHDs) are prevalent among university students with detrimental impacts for individual students, universities and the wider community. There is urgent need for proactive and preventative strategies to address the mental health crisis in the university population. This study evaluated the efficacy of a 13-week unit developed to directly educate university students about ways to improve and maintain well-being.

METHODS

Fifty-eight university students from five disciplines participated in a 13-week elective undergraduate unit "Well-Being Fundamentals for Success" as part of their degree. The Act Belong Commit mental health promotion campaign framework formed the basis of teaching materials. Outcome well-being measures were self-assessed at weeks 1, 6 and 12 using four scales: 1) Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS); 2) Perceived Stress Scale (PSS); 3) Brief Resilience Scale (BRS); and 4) Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Post-unit group interviews (n = 11) were analysed for key themes.

RESULTS

Linear mixed models demonstrated a significant improvement in BRS over the semester; well-being (WEMBS) and mindful attention (MAAS) did increase but not significantly. There was a significant increase in stress (PSS) over the semester. Key themes that emerged from the group interviews were that 1) University life contributes to well-being; 2) University life contributes to stress; 3) The well-being unit helped students see and do things differently; 4) An overall endorsement of the unit.

CONCLUSION

University students' resilience increased over the semester following participation in curriculum focused on well-being which featured a combination of theoretical content and experiential workshops.

Understanding motor control in health and disease: classic single (n = 1) observations

The field of neuroscience is increasingly dominated by a preferred use of big data, where analysis of large numbers has become an essential area of development. We here draw attention to the importance of smaller numbers, and more specifically, to the historical and continued importance of detailed and judiciously performed studies in single healthy volunteers or single patients with a unique clinical presentation, as an important approach to study normal functions of the nervous system, and to understand the pathophysiology underlying neurological movement disorders. We illustrate this by discussing several historical examples and by summarising Professor John Rothwell's impressive body of work in single-patient studies, highlighting some of his seminal n = 1 studies that have had a great impact on the field. In doing so, we hope to provide a powerful incentive for the next generation of neuroscientists to keep appreciating the value of detailed analyses of single observations.