This book, written by academics across a range of disciplines, including healthcare and social sciences discusses the increasing use of the arts in healthcare research, which often stems from the recognition that for some topics of investigation, or when dealing with sensitive issues, the usual qualitative or quantitative paradigms are not appropriate. While there is undoubtedly a place for such approaches, arts-based research paradigms (ABR) offers, not only additional study and data-collection tools, but also provides a new and enjoyable experience for those involved.  
The use of the arts as a medium to improve health and wellbeing was well documented by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2019, with over 3,000 studies conducted around the globe on the value of the arts in the prevention of ill health and promotion of health across the life span. This book examines how the arts, in a variety of forms, can be used by those working directly in healthcare settings as well as those involved in research across all health or patient settings. Covering a range of ABR genres, including literature (such as narrative and poetic inquiry); performance (music, dance, play building); visual arts (drawing and painting, collage, installation art, comics); and audio-visual and multimethod approaches, this user- friendly book will appeal to nurses, researchers in nursing and allied healthcare professions, as well professionals in the social sciences, psychosociology, psychology, literature and arts.

Preface.- Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. Arts use within healthcare and what is the evidence across health care disciplines and professions.- Chapter 3. "It is..., it stands for..., it shows...": arts-based representations in data generation and analysis.- Chapter 4. Proximity, accessibility, sensitivity, voice: the possibilities for arts based approaches in healthcare.- Chapter 5. Use of Personas and participative methods when researching with hard to reach groups.- Chapter 6. Photo-elicitation: unleashing imagery in healthcare research.- Chapter 7. At the Interface of Life Writing and Life Sciences: Eating Disorders Narratives of Lived Experience in English, German and French Literature.- Chapter 8. How can Arts be used within the context of dementia care?.- Chapter 9. Hand-drawn infographics: a tool for reflection and creativity in healthcare research and beyond.- Chapter 10. Use of writing letters and other literature forms to capture experiences of research participants.- Chapter 11. Collage, an often neglected Art form for use in research, using Canadian examples.- Chapter 12.Conclusion.