The Creative Health Research Round-Up 2025 report brings together a wide and diverse body of creative health research, practice-based evaluation, and cross-system strategy outputs published during 2025. It is designed both as a record of activity in the field and as a practical navigational tool, supporting practitioners, researchers, policymakers, commissioners, and system leaders to understand what is currently being explored, how knowledge is being generated, and where future effort may be most usefully directed.
London Arts and Health were pleased to submit St George’s Health and Wellbeing Hub Creative Health Strategy which is featured on page 90 of the report.
The report is informed by an open call for submissions led by the National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH) in partnership with the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), specifically through its Arts, Health and Wellbeing Special Interest Group. The call ran from September to November 2025 and combined open dissemination with targeted outreach to creative health research centres and sector partners, helping to surface work from across disciplines, sectors, and organisational scales. Eligible submissions included peer-reviewed research, transferable practice evaluations, and a wide range of grey literature, such as policy briefings, economic analyses, toolkits, strategies, and mapping outputs, all with a clear UK-based application.
All submissions meeting the eligibility criteria were included, reflecting NCCH’s commitment to valuing academic research and industry insight equally. This approach recognises that different parts of the creative health ecosystem generate different forms of knowledge, speak to different audiences, and operate under varying resource conditions, yet together shape the field. Editorial decisions focused on accessibility and transparency: where necessary, summaries were adapted into plain English, and strengths and limitations were made explicit to support methodological literacy and informed decision-making.
To support navigation, submissions are grouped under emergent themes developed during the review process. These themes reflect the material received rather than pre-set categories, and include areas such as equity and cultural relevance, mental health and wellbeing, strategy and systems development, co-production and participatory practice, creative methodologies, and toolkits and frameworks. The report also highlights notable gaps, including limited attention to physical health outcomes, population-level public health priorities, and workforce development, pointing to important opportunities for future research and collaboration.
Taken together, the report provides a comprehensive and transparent snapshot of the creative health landscape in 2025. It is intended to be a practical resource that can inform policy, commissioning, research design, and delivery, while supporting ongoing learning, reflection, and sector development.
Pictured: A Dance in Cancer Care Session by Move Dance Feel. Credit: Camilla Greenwell
