The Impact of Arts Activity on Nursing Staff Well-Being: An Intervention in the Workplace

Abstract

Over 59 million workers are employed in the healthcare sector globally, with a daily risk of being exposed to a complex variety of health and safety hazards. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of arts activity on the well-being of nursing staff. During October-December 2014, 115 nursing staff working in a hospital, took part in this study, which lasted for 10 weeks. The intervention group (n = 56) took part in silk painting activities once a week. Data was collected using socio-demographic questions, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, Short Form-36 Health Survey questionnaire, Reeder stress scale, and Multidimensional fatigue inventory (before and after art activities in both groups). Statistical data analysis included descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation), non-parametric statistics analysis (Man Whitney U Test; Wilcoxon signed-ranks test), Fisher's exact test and reliability analysis (Cronbach's Alpha). The level of significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. In the intervention group, there was a tendency for participation in arts activity having a positive impact on their general health and mental well-being, reducing stress and fatigue, awaking creativity and increasing a sense of community at work. The control group did not show any improvements. Of the intervention group 93% reported enjoyment, with 75% aspiring to continue arts activity in the future. This research suggests that arts activity, as a workplace intervention, can be used to promote nursing staff well-being at work.

Keywords: arts activity; arts for health; mental health and well-being; nursing staff; occupational stress management; organizational well-being; silk painting; workplace interventions.

Figure 1

The total scores of SF-36 subscales in intervention and control groups before and after art activities. Note * and **—the difference of the indicators is statistically reliable: *—the differences in the total scores in Vitality/Energy subscale between baseline and post-intervention in the intervention group (p = 0.01); **—the differences in the total scores in Emotional well-being subscale between intervention group and control group at post-intervention (p = 0.00).

Figure 2

The total scores of MFI-20, Stress scales and WEMWBS in intervention and control groups before and after art activities. Note * and **—the difference of the indicators is statistically reliable: *—the differences in the total scores in General fatigue subscale between baseline and post-intervention in the intervention group (p = 0.03); **—the differences in the total scores in Reduced activity subscale between baseline and post-intervention in the control group (p = 0.05).