Benefits of Nature Imagery and Visual Art in Healthcare Contexts: A View from Empirical Aesthetics
Public enthusiasm for the arts is high, a trend reflected in the increasingly commonplace incorporation of art in healthcare settings to enhance patient health and wellbeing. The primary aim of this critical narrative review is to evaluate the evidence for the health benefits of the most common art...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/7/1027 |
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| author | Eileen R. Cardillo Anjan Chatterjee |
| author_facet | Eileen R. Cardillo Anjan Chatterjee |
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| description | Public enthusiasm for the arts is high, a trend reflected in the increasingly commonplace incorporation of art in healthcare settings to enhance patient health and wellbeing. The primary aim of this critical narrative review is to evaluate the evidence for the health benefits of the most common art intervention in healthcare—visual art in the built environment. This review synthesizes 25 experimental studies of adult patients passively exposed to nature imagery (<i>n</i> = 17) or other visual art (<i>n</i> = 8). Additional aims are to identify methodological limits and conceptual gaps, integrate the evaluation of studies with insights from empirical aesthetics, and propose a research agenda to advance understanding in ways relevant to clinicians, hospital designers, and policymakers. The efficacy of nature imagery is surprisingly robust given the limited evidence, consistently indicating reduced stress, pain, and anxiety and enhanced patient satisfaction. The impacts of other visual art forms and on other psychological and clinical outcomes are promising but inconsistent, requiring additional testing. Key opportunities for the future include tailoring interventions to the needs of different contexts and populations, deepening engagement, leveraging emerging technologies, capitalizing on underlying mechanisms, and demonstrating economic benefits. With rigorous, scientific study, this young field can inform hospital design, improve patient outcomes, and enhance the culture of healthcare. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c2134825ebc042e89b8db29575c584ca |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
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| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj-art-c2134825ebc042e89b8db29575c584ca2025-08-20T02:15:55ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092025-03-01157102710.3390/buildings15071027Benefits of Nature Imagery and Visual Art in Healthcare Contexts: A View from Empirical AestheticsEileen R. Cardillo0Anjan Chatterjee1Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USAPenn Center for Neuroaesthetics, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USAPublic enthusiasm for the arts is high, a trend reflected in the increasingly commonplace incorporation of art in healthcare settings to enhance patient health and wellbeing. The primary aim of this critical narrative review is to evaluate the evidence for the health benefits of the most common art intervention in healthcare—visual art in the built environment. This review synthesizes 25 experimental studies of adult patients passively exposed to nature imagery (<i>n</i> = 17) or other visual art (<i>n</i> = 8). Additional aims are to identify methodological limits and conceptual gaps, integrate the evaluation of studies with insights from empirical aesthetics, and propose a research agenda to advance understanding in ways relevant to clinicians, hospital designers, and policymakers. The efficacy of nature imagery is surprisingly robust given the limited evidence, consistently indicating reduced stress, pain, and anxiety and enhanced patient satisfaction. The impacts of other visual art forms and on other psychological and clinical outcomes are promising but inconsistent, requiring additional testing. Key opportunities for the future include tailoring interventions to the needs of different contexts and populations, deepening engagement, leveraging emerging technologies, capitalizing on underlying mechanisms, and demonstrating economic benefits. With rigorous, scientific study, this young field can inform hospital design, improve patient outcomes, and enhance the culture of healthcare.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/7/1027art in healthbenefits of visual arthospital designhealthcare aestheticsart and wellbeinghealing environments |
| spellingShingle | Eileen R. Cardillo Anjan Chatterjee Benefits of Nature Imagery and Visual Art in Healthcare Contexts: A View from Empirical Aesthetics Buildings art in health benefits of visual art hospital design healthcare aesthetics art and wellbeing healing environments |
| title | Benefits of Nature Imagery and Visual Art in Healthcare Contexts: A View from Empirical Aesthetics |
| title_full | Benefits of Nature Imagery and Visual Art in Healthcare Contexts: A View from Empirical Aesthetics |
| title_fullStr | Benefits of Nature Imagery and Visual Art in Healthcare Contexts: A View from Empirical Aesthetics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Benefits of Nature Imagery and Visual Art in Healthcare Contexts: A View from Empirical Aesthetics |
| title_short | Benefits of Nature Imagery and Visual Art in Healthcare Contexts: A View from Empirical Aesthetics |
| title_sort | benefits of nature imagery and visual art in healthcare contexts a view from empirical aesthetics |
| topic | art in health benefits of visual art hospital design healthcare aesthetics art and wellbeing healing environments |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/7/1027 |
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