Developing guidelines for good practice in participatory arts-in-health-care contexts

As the field of arts in health grows in scale and diversity, it needs to affirm a set of shared principles and describe what constitutes best practice. This article recounts the production of guidelines for good practice in participatory arts in health care, based on consultations with practitioners in the arts and health sectors in Ireland in 20082009. It considers why it was difficult and inappropriate to formalize a code of practice but explains how guidelines for good practice within an ethical framework were collectively agreed. It argues that the arts in health practitioner is not the individual artist but rather a partnership between diverse professional interests with common principles and values that govern engagement with participants and inform the planning, delivery and evaluation of the practice. It considers issues of quality and risk and proposes that benchmarking best practice should be the next step.