Heritage, Health and Wellbeing - Mapping Future Priorities and Potential

The 'Heritage, Health and Wellbeing' project is a follow-on from the AHRC funded 'Heritage in Hospitals' project (AH/G000506/1), which assessed the therapeutic potential of museum object handling as an enrichment intervention in hospitals and care homes for the elderly. The 'Heritage, Health and Wellbeing project' brought together sector workers involved in delivering programmes which address health and wellbeing in order to map out UK and key overseas contributions, and formulated a health and wellbeing framework for the sector with robust evaluation and measurement criteria. This was a heritage specific measurement and evaluation methodology comprising potential quantitative and qualitative approaches for assessing the sectors impact on health and wellbeing. The project held 3 regional workshops (London, North East, and North West) and they were able to share case studies, best practice, evaluation methodologies and key findings. They established a museums, health and wellbeing network, which considered the need for a sector specific methodological approach for measuring and evaluating contributions to health and wellbeing. They also explored a range of quantitative (e.g. quality of life, life satisfaction and wellbeing scales), and qualitative (e.g. grounded theory, content analysis, ethnographic methodologies) approaches. Museums were involved in discussions about a 'heritage-specific, health and wellbeing outcomes measurement methodology' in order to identify future priorities. A Heritage, Health and Wellbeing network was established, presenting new opportunities for networking and meeting fellow sector workers. The project team established a project specific website hosted at UCL which includes a comprehensive portfolio of sector contributions.