Interdisciplinary arts and health practice with an institutional logics perspective

Abstract

Background: Investigating the interdisciplinary relationships between stakeholders engaged in arts and health practice in the UK and Denmark, specifically with regard to institutional logics theory. The identified stakeholders: health professionals, museum educators and mental health service users.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 participants: health professionals, museum educators and service users. Data were collected in Denmark and the UK. A thematic approach was used to analyse the data and theoretical lenses of sociological theories, and institutional logics explored the findings.

Results: The interdisciplinary work in arts and health is complex, given the different disciplines and institutions involved. Findings illustrate that institutional logics play a vital and ambiguous part in arts and health practice and that this presents a challenge for interdisciplinary working in the field.

Conclusions: Awareness of the complexity of multiple logics in the arts and health field; recognising the differences between disciplines and institutions could benefit from research and practice.

Keywords:

• Arts and health
• mental health
• interdisciplinary collaboration
• institutional logics