Creative Arts – shaping how communities live healthier and more connected lives

At the same time as health and care systems across England are undergoing significant reform, new evidence on declining healthy life expectancy (1) is further sharpening the discourse around the importance of prevention, community resilience and population wellbeing.

In Norfolk and Suffolk, leaders across health, local government and the cultural sector are collaborating to increasingly position creative health as part of the long-term response to these challenges. They are not only encouraging prevention but also facilitating health creation – as a practical and evidence-led component of health and care delivery for the future.

The challenge at hand

Recent analysis from The Health Foundation points to the scale of the issue at hand. Healthy life expectancy, which is the number of years people can expect to live in good health, has fallen by around two years over the last decade and has also now fallen below the state pension age (66 years, in good health) in more than 90% of local areas across Great Britain – creating growing pressure on health and care systems and people’s ability to participate in the workforce (1).

The gap in life expectancy is particularly notable in some East of England communities experiencing deprivation.  There can be a gap of up to 20 years in healthy life expectancy depending on where people live (1). Inequalities are reflected across many parts of England, including coastal and rural neighbourhoods, which are particularly prominent across Norfolk and Suffolk.

Spanning this context and guided by the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, health systems are accelerating towards models of care grounded in prevention and early intervention. Integrated Care Systems and Local Authorities are increasingly collaborating to keep people well for longer – supporting healthy ageing and strengthening community-based approaches to help reduce demand on acute services.

Backed by research

Creative health is emerging as a promising area within the preventative agenda.

Evidence supporting its impact continues to grow. Recent studies link creative participation to reduced stress, improved mental wellbeing and stronger social connection (2,3). Research from University College London has suggested that sustained engagement in arts and cultural activity is associated with slower page of ageing – Prof. Daisy Fancourt (Lead Author) asserts that the “results provide evidence for arts and cultural engagement to be recognised as a health-promoting behaviour” (4).

Creative health approaches can be seen to address multiple determinants of health simultaneously. Evidence further suggests that they can reduce loneliness, strengthen confidence, support mental health recovery and foster stronger community networks (5), all factors that influence long-term health outcomes and life expectancy.

The regional context

The establishment of Norfolk and Suffolk as a Region of Creative health is supported by investment from Arts Council England. The Norfolk and Suffolk Region of Creative Health Programme is working to embed creative health approaches across the wider health and care system. The initiative brings together partners from healthcare, local government, voluntary organisations and the cultural sector to develop a more coordinated regional infrastructure for creative health delivery.

The programme’s initial priorities include integrating creative activity within social prescribing pathways, developing the capability of the region’s workforce and strengthening data capture. It is also focussed on implementing evidence-backed innovations and building innovation into the way commissioning models are designed.

It seems clear that it is difficult to improve population health through clinical interventions alone. Many of the drivers of poor health, for example loneliness, social isolation, inactivity and poor mental wellbeing are social and environmental in nature. Creative health interventions often reach people who may not access traditional health. As such they are increasingly valuable ways to engage those in need.

This is particularly relevant in Norfolk and Suffolk, where rurality, ageing populations and pockets of economic deprivation create distinct health challenges. Community-based creative programmes provide accessible, low-cost support that complements formal healthcare provision while strengthening local resilience.

Evidence backed impact

East Suffolk and King’s Lynn & West Norfolk authorities have both adopted the principles of the Marmot Place programme. Developed from the work of Professor Sir Michael Marmot, it emphasises the importance of giving every child the best start in life, enabling healthy living conditions, supporting strong communities and reducing inequalities across the life course.

Creative health aligns with these ambitions. By increasing social participation, supporting emotional wellbeing and improving community engagement, creative interventions can help deliver against Marmot objectives in practical and measurable ways.

Across Norfolk and Suffolk, there is already growing evidence, from practice, that demonstrates this impact. Over the last decade, arts-based workshops for older-people delivered within rural Norfolk communities – including people living with dementia, long-term health conditions or loneliness – have shown improvements in wellbeing and social connectedness. Participants have reported reduced isolation, greater confidence and improved quality of life. Service evaluations have demonstrated measurable mental wellbeing benefits (6,7,8).

Elsewhere across Norfolk and Suffolk, creative health programmes have supported children and young people experiencing anxiety, individuals recovering from illness, and communities facing social isolation. While the interventions themselves vary, the principle underpinning their delivery remains consistent: strengthening wellbeing and resilience before crisis points are reached.

Senior leaders across the health and care ecosystem consistently stress that long-term improvement population health will depend not only on implementing innovation, but also on wider system partnerships that shape people’s lives. Norfolk and Suffolk Region of Creative Health is an example of how such partnerships can operate effectively across sectors.

The theme of Creativity and Wellbeing Week 2026, “Critical Hope”, captures something of the current mood within health and care transformation. It reflects the seriousness of the challenges, the opportunities facing public services and the need to act decisively on evidence-based solutions capable of delivering meaningful change.

In summary… as Natalie Jode, Executive Director of Creative Arts East, suggests:

“The decline in healthy life expectancy is one of the most pressing challenges facing our health and care system. Through the Region of Creative Health programme, Norfolk and Suffolk has an opportunity to lead nationally in embedding creativity within system-wide approaches to population health improvement. To achieve this means shaping how communities live healthier and more connected lives.”