Preface
This brief bibliography contains resources focused on the intersection between health and the creative arts for Black and African Americans. The resources provide insight into the role of creative arts in Black and African American health and wellness, including arts-based health interventions and the use of art as a tool for social change and community health. They also highlight the importance of increasing diversity in the field of therapeutic creative arts and removing barriers to accessing to arts-based interventions for Black and African Americans.
The list contains blog posts from health care organizations, journal articles, and other scholarly works such as masters’ theses. These resources are organized into four (4) sections by topic:
- Creative arts-based interventions for mental and physical health.
- Social change and community healing through art.
- Art as a tool for research and health promotion.
- Representation in the arts and access to arts-based interventions.
The resources in this list are available to read or download for free. For more resources on the health of racial and ethnic minority populations, please visit the OMH Knowledge Center online catalog.
Introduction
Black and African Americans face significant health disparities, including lower projected life expectancies and higher burdens of diseases and conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and HIV than non-Hispanic white Americans, as well as higher maternal mortality rates and firearm-related homicide rates (among Black males) than any other racial or ethnic group. These health disparities can be linked to significant structural and social barriers to health equity, including income and health insurance inequality, health literacy disparities, and the detrimental health effects of racism.
The creative arts can serve as a powerful health intervention for Black Americans, strengthening coping skills and fostering healing from racial trauma and stress. For instance, a music-based mindfulness intervention tailored to Black and African Americans showed promise in decreasing race-based anxiety.
The arts can also promote social change. For example, works of art educate and deepen people’s understanding of racial injustice and promote healing from trauma at a community level.
In addition to promoting healing at the individual and community levels, the arts can serve as a tool in public health research and health promotion. With photovoice research methodology, study participants express themselves and their communities through photography, allowing researchers to partner more effectively with community members and build more meaningful outreach and interventions. Health promotion interventions culturally tailored to a specific population, such as the Hip Hop Stroke initiative designed to teach urban minority children how to recognize stroke symptoms, have shown promising results in increasing health literacy and improving health outcomes.
Although studies show that the use of creative arts-based interventions and therapies for Black and African Americans can lead to positive outcomes, there is a lack of diversity in arts-based intervention research and in the field of art therapy. The resources in this reading list highlight that more inclusive research is needed to design effective, culturally tailored arts-based health interventions for this population, and that an increase in field diversity could help art therapy to reach Black and African Americans who may not otherwise have access.
Creative Arts-Based Interventions
A Digital Music-Based Mindfulness Intervention for Black Americans with Elevated Race-Based Anxiety: A Multiple-Baseline Pilot Study. Jones, G.; Herrmann, F.; Nock, M. K. JMIR Formative Research, v. 7 (August 16): Art. e49284, 2023.
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Musical Cognitive Restructuring App for Black Inner-City Girls: Survey, Usage, and Focus Group Evaluation. Neal-Barnett, A., Stadulis, R., Ellzey, D., Jean, E., Rowell, T., et al. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, v. 7, #6 (June): Art. e11310, 2019.
Music Therapy for Pain in Black and White Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Study. Lichtl, A., Casaw, C., Edwards, J., Popkin, K., Yu, J., et al. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, v. 64, #5 (November), p. 478-485, 2022.
Unmaking Racism Through Expressive Arts Therapy with Black American Women: A Literature Review. Cropper, S. Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses: Art. 510, 2021.
Vocal Music Therapy for Chronic Pain Management in Inner-City African Americans: A Mixed Methods Feasibility Study. Bradt, J., Norris, M., Shim, M., Gracely, E. J., & Gerrity, P. Journal of Music Therapy, v. 53, #2 (Summer), p. 178-206, 2016.
Social Change and Community Healing Through Art
Art, Anti-Racism and Health Equity: "Don't Ask Me Why, Ask Me How!" Griffith, D. M., & Semlow, A. R. Ethnicity & Disease, v. 30, #3 (Summer), p. 373-380, 2020.
Mental Health During COVID-19: Community-Based Arts Addressing African American Experiences. Garlock, M. A., Sahle, E. N., Kelly, S. E., Williams, M. S., & Kirby, S. L. Africana Public Interest Journal, v.1 (Spring), 2023.
Using the Arts to Address Racism in Health Care. Strongin, R. AcademyHealth Blog, academyhealth.org, 2021.
Research and Health Promotion Through Art
Beginning a Partnership with Photovoice to Explore Environmental Health and Health Inequities in Minority Communities. Kovacic, M. B., Stigler, S., Smith, A., Kidd, A., & Vaughn, L. M. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, v. 11, #11 (October 27), p. 11132-11151, 2014.
How Can We PrEP? Exploring Black MSM's Experiences with Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Through Photovoice. LeMasters, K., Atkins, K., Oloonabadi, S. A., Munn, T., Eng, E., et al. AIDS Education and Prevention, v. 33, #1 (February), p. 16-32, 2021.
Improving Community Stroke Preparedness in the Hip Hop Stroke Randomized Clinical Trial. Williams, O., Leighton-Herrmann Quinn, E., Teresi, J., Eimicke, J. P., Kong, J., et al. Stroke, v. 49, #4 (April), p. 972-979, 2018.
A Review of Hip Hop-Based Interventions for Health Literacy, Health Behaviors, and Mental Health. Robinson, C., Seaman, E. L., Montgomery, L., & Winfrey, A. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, v. 5, #3 (June), p. 468-484, 2018.
Rise Up, Get Tested, and Live: An Arts-Based Colorectal Cancer Educational Program in a Faith-Based Setting. Friedman, D. B., Adams, S. A., Brandt, H. M., Heiney, S. P., Hébert, J. R., et al. Journal of Cancer Education, v. 34, #3 (June), p. 550–555, 2019.
Representation in the Arts and Access to Arts-Based Interventions
The Creator of a Viral Black Fetus Medical Illustration Blends Art and Activism. Limm, D. HealthCity, healthcity.bmc.org, 2022.
Efforts in Increasing Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Field of Art Therapy. Awais, Y. J., & Yali, A. M. Art Therapy, v. 32, #3 (August 17), p. 112-119, 2015.
Honoring African-American Art Therapy Pioneers. American Art Therapy Association Blog, arttherapy.org, 2019.
Understanding Black Experiences and Access Barriers in the Expressive Arts Activities and Therapies. Harris, J., & Marcelo, A. K. Psychology, Art. 6, 2021.