Art Making as a Health Intervention: Concept Analysis and Implications for Nursing Interventions

Abstract

Art making has been adopted across multiple disciplines as a health intervention. However, our understanding of art making as a health intervention and how it differs from art therapy is still limited. Therefore, we conducted a concept analysis to better understand art making as a health intervention guided by Walker and Avant's approach. We examined 85 studies in which we found 4 defining attributes, 4 antecedents, and physical, cognitive, emotional, and psychological consequences. We suggest several nursing research and practical implications for nurse researchers and clinicians to aid in designing and implementing art making health interventions.