Health Promotion Practice showcases the intersection of arts and public health
Open access supplement features 18 commentaries, full-length articles and calls to action
This important collection of papers advances the current knowledge about, skills needed for, and examples of work
using the arts to advance individual and population health.
Curated by guest co-editors Jill Sonke, Lourdes Rodriguez and Melissa Valerio-Shewmaker,
the supplement features 18 commentaries, full-length articles, and calls to action from thought leaders, practitioners and
researchers working to establish an evidence base and set best practices in the field of arts in public health.
“This supplement provides powerful examples and evidence of how cross-sector collaboration between public health
and the arts can advance health promotion goals and impacts,” writes Jill Sonke. “It also illustrates the role
of the arts in equitably and effectively addressing health equity and altering the upstream systems, policies
and structures that create health disparities.”
The supplement shares
examples of how the arts are integrated into public health research methods, offers arts-integrated frameworks
for research, and introduces arts-based research-to-practice case studies.
Readers will also find evidence syntheses and practice examples that highlight arts-based strategies to address
some of our most persistent public health problems such as substance use, social isolation, environmental change,
and health equity.
Guest editorial board member Sandro Galea, dean of Boston University’s School of Public Health, also asserts the
vision that the arts have a central role in contemporary public health efforts. “I’ve always seen public health
as being aspirational towards collectively creating a better world that generates health. Art provides a shared
language that dovetails perfectly with seeing the mission of public health as one of generating a better world.”
The supplement concludes
with a call-to-action from Maria Rosario Jackson, senior advisor at the Kresge Foundation, who asks researchers
and practitioners to reimagine their roles to drive cross-sector collaboration to meet a demand for health
equity. She writes, “As the confluence of community development, arts and public health become stronger, the
promise of raising the bar -aspiring to greater justice and equity in more meaningful ways – in all three fields
is inspiring.”
HPP’s Editor-in-Chief Dr. Kathleen Roe notes, “HPP is proud to showcase these innovative practices and research
initiatives. Individually, they offer tools and guidance for sentient community-based action. Together, they
demonstrate the transformative power of word, image, and movement across the social-ecological spectrum. This
is the arts in public health lens.”
The HPP Podcast will feature several episodes exploring some of the most compelling topics discussed in
the supplement, starting May 5 on Spotify (
https://spoti.fi/3knpyWt) or wherever you
access your podcasts. SOPHE will offer a webinar series featuring a variety of the manuscript authors, beginning
May 19, and make several articles available for self-study to earn continuing education credits on SOPHE’s
Center for Online Resources and Education (CORE).
for those certified in health education or public health.
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Contact: For more information, please contact Jeanine Robitaille, MS, CHES,® editorial & project manager at
jrobitaille@sophe.org or 202.408.9804 ext. 165.
About Health Promotion Practice
Health Promotion Practice (HPP) is an official journal SOPHE. Published bimonthly, the journal is a forum for authoritative
research, commentary, practical tools, and promising practices that strategically advance the art and science
of health promotion and disease prevention. HPP’s scope includes policy, programs, professional preparation,
and career development in diverse settings, including communities, health care, work sites, and schools. HPP
is committed to eliminating health disparities, achieving health equity, addressing social determinants of
health, and advancing evidence-based health promotion practice.
About SOPHE
The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1950 to provide global leadership
to the profession of health education and health promotion, and to promote the health of society. SOPHE represents
a diverse membership of 4,000 professionals and students who work and learn in various public and private organizations
and universities to advance health education theory and research, develop disease prevention and health promotion
programs, and promote public policies conducive to health. For more information visit
www.sophe.org.
