The Palliative Arts: Envisioning a New Paradigm in Palliative Care

Abstract

A growing body of evidence supports the effectiveness of arts-based interventions in nurturing human connection, healing, and reflection—for patients living with illness, their families, and their health care communities. Thus, we propose that these interventions, what we call the Palliative Arts—just as much as science—should be systematically integrated in clinical education, practice, research, wellness, leadership, and advocacy to impact person-centered outcomes. Our interprofessional team describes a variety of arts-based programming that its authors are leading to highlight the breadth of existing Palliative Arts work and point to future horizons for its integration in health care education and clinical settings. We propose that the Palliative Arts can inform a new paradigm, one with the potential to foster person-centered innovation and meaningful change in the field of palliative care—and health care at large.