Project title
Description of initiative
International partners from seven countries had worked on this project for over three years to increase the use of the arts in the treatment of long-term conditions. The TABLO project brought together representatives from seven countries to develop an e-learning toolkit of vocational training which will help integrate arts into every day physical and mental healthcare when working with people who have long term conditions. Recognising that there is much research and evidence that supports the use of the arts having a profoundly positive effect on peoples mental and physical health and wellbeing, this project aimed to educate and share ideas that would enable professionals, carers and others, to use arts as part of the support they provide to individuals. The objective of this project was to develop a new online e-learning package to enable staff to learn new skills to be able to offer patients arts-based therapeutic activities. The main activity undertaken was the creation of the online e-learning package. The package brings together e-learning chapters on 14 different health conditions, their characteristics and how they affect a person’s life, together with more than 400 arts-based activities for use by professionals and carers. A total of 8 organisations took part in the project, all working collaboratively, and bringing together their expertise: a university public health team (evaluation and quality control); an NHS mental health service provider; an organisation working with patients with specific conditions (autism); experts in arts therapy and non-verbal communication; an adult education provider; a regional municipality responsible for healthcare; a national mental health association and an e-learning development expert.
Themes: Culture and...
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Cultural field
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Results, benefits, impact and lessons learnt
The main project results are the creation of the e-learning package (freely available to anyone) and the increased knowledge of the staff that have participated in the learning mobilities. For those directly involved in the project design and development from all partner organisations there has been an increase in knowledge through experiential learning and appreciation of each other’s health provision and outcomes. In terms of impact, this has led to 24.150 people from Europe and US being reached with information about the project, together with increased cultural awareness, appreciation of the diversity of arts and the direct and indirect benefit of the use of arts as a therapeutic tool. The project will lead to an improvement in the quality of education available to professional care staff and, through them, to the range of services offered to patients. Long-term, it is anticipated that the project will lead to a greater number of staff from health care organisations across the EU using the online package to be confident in the use of therapeutic arts activities.