Creative health refers to the implementation of creative activities e.g. music, visual arts, dance, and storytelling, amongst others as a means to support physical, mental, and social wellbeing. It’s not just about feeling good, but about measurable outcomes in health systems, from reducing loneliness, supporting recovery and managing chronic conditions, including stress, anxiety and depression. Lord Howarth of Newport, Chair of National Centre for Creative Health and Co-Chair All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing, states that “Creative Health can help people to stay well, recover better and enjoy an improved quality throughout the Life Course. It can help communities, especially where there is disadvantage to thrive”. The report presents case studies with data showing how creative interventions reduce health inequalities, improve mental health, even easing pressure on healthcare services. Policy Recommendations include the call for a cross-departmental Creative Health Strategy, coordinated by the UK Cabinet Office and supported by the Prime Minister, to embed creativity across health, education, and social policy. At the same time, in Wales, Professor Carolyn Wallace, Director of The Wales School for Social Prescribing Research (WSSPR) was instrumental in the launch of The National Framework for Social Prescribing (NFfSP) that spotlights how creativity, through arts, culture, and community engagement can be a powerful force in improving health and wellbeing across society. The current research utilizes a mixed methods approach where through brainstorming research participants, Service Providers, medical practitioners, professionals in Healthcare Centres, and those working in Community Centres together with Members of WSSPR who have contributed their perspectives relating to the online focus prompt “A Critical Success Factor for the sustainability of Social Prescribing Art-on-Prescription is. . . “. The qualitative data collected was then sorted online into piles by each of the research respondents with the list of brainstormed statements (i.e. synthesised into 125 statements from the original 191 statements). The GroupWisdomTM software, implemented became an invaluable tool to conduct the Group Concept Mapping (GCM) Method (Kane and Trochim, 2007) to quantify the qualitative data by allowing research participants to use a bivariate scaling process with the application of a selected Likert Scale on two variables (i)’importance’ of each statement (1-Low,5-High) and (ii)’degree of effectiveness’ of each statement (1-Low,5-High). Following the Ratings, the GroupWisdomTM software produces useful charts such as Cluster Maps and Go-Zone Graphics that provide insights to Service Provider perspectives relating to their perceived notions relating to critical success factors for the sustainability of SP A-o-P in Wales. Furthermore, the research has now identified, from Service Providers a ranked list of the 125 statements from the most effective to the least effective critical success factors. To date the most rated critical success factor is that which recognises the essential nature of GPs in the referral process, followed by access for people with disabilities. Ongoing research, with critical friends will now include those critical success factors perceived by Service Users with the intention of triangulating the two datasets identifying whether Service User expectations are matched by those provided by Service Providers.

Keywords: Creativity, health, social well-being, group concept mapping, social prescribing, Art-on-Prescription, community engagement, Healthcare Centres, Cluster Mapping, GroupWisdomTM Go-Zone Charts, Brainstorming, critical success factors, sustainability.