Health humanities is a field pioneered at Nottingham and involves research investigating the relationship between arts, humanities, healthcare, health and well-being. Our studies focus on health in general but specifically mental health in relation to:
- language, discourse and narrative/ stories
- literary and media representations
- creative practices in the arts and performing arts (such as music, theatre, visual arts, dance, yoga, sculpture, photography and storytelling)
- built environment
- religion and spirituality
- philosophy and history
We have attracted more than £7m from prestigious funding bodies such as ESRC, AHRC, the Leverhulme Trust, the Wellcome Trust and the Arts Council for our interdisciplinary research.
Research that makes an impact
What’s Up With Everyone?
This large, highly collaborative commissioned three-year programme led by Professor Paul Crawford co-created 5 new short animations with Academy Award winning Aardman (Shaun the Sheep etc.) to support upstream mental health literacy among young people.
Read more about What's Up With Everyone?
ESRC fund new project exploring "influencer" stories of mental health.
Professor Paul Crawford at the Institute of Mental Health joins Dr Ruth Page (Principal Investigator, University of Birmingham) and Dr Michael Larkin (Aston University) in a new ESRC-funded project exploring how stories told by social media 'influencers' can help young people or put them at risk as they gain awareness of, and respond to, challenges in mental health.
Read more about exploring infuencer stories of mental health
Lockdown Landscapes, National Memorial Arboretum
This project explored the impact of local outdoor environments and resources during the pandemic. The National Memorial Arboretum (NMA), the UK’s leading civilian and military remembrance institution at Alrewas, Staffordshire, offered a welcome opportunity for five groups of people to explore their memories through a project called Lockdown Landscapes, produced in collaboration with the National Forest Company, Westminster Abbey, and Sampad, supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Read more about Lockdown Landscapes
Discover more research
Creative practice as mutual recovery
Enhancing mental health and wellbeing through the use of the arts and other creative practices.
Read more about creative practice as mutual recovery
Find out about some of our other research projects