Music, the Best Medicine?

By Dagi Kimani
Nairobi

IN WHAT COULD TURN OUT TO be a real-life experience of music in the operating theatre, Nairobi's Mater Hospital is to pioneer a programme to tap into the healing powers of the arts for the benefit of its patients.

Dubbed Arts in Medicine, the programme will see artistes using dance, music, drama, creative writing and the visual arts in the clinical set-up to improve the patient's comfort and well-being. A second component will involve the use of the creative arts to enhance the visual appeal of the hospital's physical setting.

The Mater recently appointed award-winning musician Suzanne Owiyo as a special ambassador for the programme, the first of its kind in Africa.

"Art and aesthetics form a solid foundation upon which to build a customer-welcoming environment for both patients and their families," Harriet Koyoson, the hospital's communications manager, told The EastAfrican. "Research has shown, for example, that creating interiors that foster self-worth and engender feelings of human dignity are essential to the healing process."

According to Ms Koyoson, once fully implemented, the Arts in Medicine programme will see artistic displays in all public areas of the hospital, as well as patients being encouraged to take part in artistic activities in such clinical areas as the bedside. A professional artist will also sit on the design and construction teams involved in the physical development of the hospital to ensure that this is done in an aesthetic and environmentally-friendly way.

Mater's Arts in Medicine concept is modelled on that currently used by the University of Florida's Shands Healthcare facilities, with which the institution has partnered. The University of Florida was among the first institutions in the world to come up with the concept of using art to promote healing.

Among the hallmarks of the Shands programme are artworks developed by patients themselves, as well as contemporary works by professional artists in prints, cultural textiles and sculpture. The Shands initiative also makes use of framed posters and reproductions, which are the more economical ways of decorating a facility. Additionally, the programme integrates music into most of its artistic activities.

Two weeks ago, Ms Owiyo travelled to the University of Florida for a two-month sensitisation course on how the Shands Healthcare programme is conducted. She was accompanied by Winnie Ojee-Njenga, Mater Hospital's Arts in Medicine co-ordinator.

"It is a well-known fact that art, music and dancing form an integral part of African culture and heritage," said Ms Owiyo before leaving. "It is a privilege to use our heritage in a manner that will help patients."

ACCORDING TO MS Koyoson, the Mater programme will see selected local artists working in residence with patients, their families, and staff in the creative disciplines of dance, drama, writing, music and the visual arts. They will not only be beneficial to the patients themselves but also help in promoting local artistes in general.

But, she says, the programme will be monitored to ensure that it fits into patients' clinical needs and is not intrusive or condescending.

"The dynamic of patient and artist working together fosters open communication and strengthens the patient's sense of control during times of crisis brought about by serious illness," Ms Koyoson said. "We expect that this collaboration will allow patients and their families to participate in activities that enhance their hospital experience."

PATIENTS WILL ALSO BE encouraged to display their personal works in order to personalise their environment while admitted at the hospital, she added.

"We are excited by the positive impact we expect the programme to make on the patients who are our primary focus at Mater Hospital," the institution's chief executive officer Kennedy Ayoti said. "We consider ourselves privileged to be pioneering this project in Kenya, and Africa in general, and we expect that our experience will inform the direction of other health facilities.

The launch of the Mater programme, which will officially take place in October, comes at a time when health institutions in Nairobi are waking up to the demand for high-quality medical care among an increasingly sophisticated patient base, a significant number of whom have experienced First-World care while abroad for education or business.

The push for quality care in aesthetically and culturally acceptable environments has in the past decade seen the establishment of several specialised health facilities such as the Nairobi Women's Hospital. The Mater Hospital was established in 1962 by the Sisters of Mercy, a Catholic order from Ireland, and is registered as a charitable trust.

I am your captive audience!
Wax eloquently, ad infinitum, please!
I basically attribute a lot of what is going on here to chakra alignment, meditation, and biofeedback, but your take on it, is much more fun!
Thanks!