{"id":1277,"date":"2023-06-25T11:58:27","date_gmt":"2023-06-25T10:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/artatthestart\/?page_id=1277"},"modified":"2025-04-06T22:44:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-06T21:44:42","slug":"mobilising-community-assets-to-address-health-inequalities-creative-community-intervention","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/artatthestart\/mobilising-community-assets-to-address-health-inequalities-creative-community-intervention\/","title":{"rendered":"Creative Community Intervention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

UKRI ‘Mobilising Cultural and Natural Assets to Address Health Inequalities’ grants 2022-2023<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Creative Community Intervention is our response to a strategic call from the UKRI’s Mobilising cultural assets to combat health inequalities scheme<\/a><\/strong>. Art at the Start’s range of arts-based interventions to promote the mental health and wellbeing of parents and 0\u20133-year-old infants meant this was an opportune next step for us. Funding from the scheme <\/strong>for our project \u2018Art at the Start: Creative community intervention for perinatal and infant mental health<\/strong>\u2018 allowed us to explore the potential to scale up this locally developed intervention model. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phase 1 (2022)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Phase one built upon our successful control trial in Dundee Contemporary Arts in 2018-2020, which showed a significant improvement to parental wellbeing, their perception of their infant, and observation of increased behaviours that sustain secure attachments. We expanded across a range of new gallery sites within Scotland in 2022, feeding into current governmental and NHS drives to offer diverse and sustainable perinatal and infant mental health (PIMH) provision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We embedded art therapists within four galleries across Scotland as action researchers (Dundee Contemporary Arts<\/strong>, Dundee; Tramway<\/strong>, Glasgow; Taigh Chearsabhagh<\/strong> Museum and Arts Centre, North Uist; Dunfermline Carnegie Libraries and Galleries<\/strong>, Fife). They developed services with the galleries, exploring the process and evaluating outcomes. We also supported the set-up of two additional services which ran in parallel with Cross Reach<\/strong> perinatal team and NHS Lothian<\/strong> community perinatal team, supported by Fruitmarket<\/strong>, and National Museum of Scotland<\/strong>. All the art therapists received training in the model of parent-infant art therapy groups and ongoing support and clinical supervision throughout the project. The art therapists were encouraged to work with each gallery to meet local need for wider public engagement and outreach to engage as many families as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In total 58<\/strong> pairs of infants and their caregivers accessed art therapy support, 220<\/strong> families received targeted outreach with art-based approaches, and over 2500<\/strong> people were reached through public sessions, encouraging more art making for the very youngest participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRelaxed informal session \u2013 loved it and baby loved it to \u2013 excellent opportunity for messy fun play. Brilliant for community. More sessions please!\u201d -first time visitor to DCA<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Public drop in, Tramway, Glasgow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Public session, DCLG. Photographed by David P Scott.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Working across a spectrum from art therapy sessions on referral, to needs-led art support, to a fully public participative approach, part of Art at the Start\u2019s key mission was to widely communicate the psychological benefits of early art making, and to provide on the ground support for such activities. In each area the team adapted to meet the needs of local families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThree months old today, and we took him here to create his first work of art! Loved the opportunity to share art in the gallery and let him get messy and share new experiences with other babies and families\u201d \u2013 parent at messy play session in Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Gallery<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Phase 1 end event in DCA, Dundee. Photographed by David P Scott. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As with our control trial the results seen during this first phase of funding showed significant improvement, and across all sites we had a very low drop out rate (less than 5%), demonstrating high feasibility. We also know that 39% of the families accessing the therapeutic intervention were in the highest quintile for deprivation in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full report from Phase 1 here:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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