Utilising creative practice and the arts to develop public health policy: the voices of children and young people in Newcastle

Introduction

Evidence for the links between creative practice and improved public health is growing. While research has often focussed on the role of the arts in improving health and wellbeing, ¹ there has been a call for research into the benefits of collaboration between policy-makers and the arts sector. In their 2023 review, Dow et al. ² explored international progress in intersectional approaches to arts and public health, highlighting examples of commitments to the arts in public health policy. However, very few examples of utilising the arts to develop public health policy exist.

This article describes two projects in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. In 2024, the Public Health team at Newcastle City Council commissioned two local artistic teams to help shape and develop their strategy to improve health and reduce inequalities for the population of Newcastle.

Newcastle City Council have set out their intention to become a ‘Marmot City’, joining a network of places working with the Institute of Health Equity (IHE) at University College London. ³ In their research, Professor Marmot and his team at the IHE highlight the importance of children and young people (CYP) in creating healthier and fairer societies. ⁴ While Newcastle is a city with significant health disparities, one of its key strengths is the relatively young and diverse population. ⁵ Therefore, gathering the views and experiences of CYP in the city was seen as critical in the development of a strategy to reduce health inequalities.

Approaches To Creative Arts Involvement In Public Health Policy

Two projects were undertaken to explore CYP views on living in Newcastle and what the ‘Marmot Eight’ policy principles ³ mean to them. During the first project, a local animator and community artist (L.K.) spent time in a local primary school with children in year 6 (aged 11–12) and Newcastle-based youth groups. Children were encouraged to use creative media including poetry, rap, illustrations and demonstration placards to identify their priorities and what would make their city a better place to live. The CYP’s ideas were used to develop the independent Director of Public Health Annual Report ⁶ and have been presented at a local and national level. A subsequent ‘child friendly’ version of the report has been produced to make the findings accessible to the CYP.

The second project involved creative theatre company ‘Unfolding Theatre’ who developed a production with their youth groups (East End Story Makers, Cowgate Young Theatre Makers and North East Deaf Youth Theatre) that was performed at the Newcastle Marmot City Launch Conference in February 2025. In ‘Serving Up’, young participants (aged 7–12) performed in a restaurant, serving conference delegates with their hopes and expectations for a healthier and improved city. Their responses were fearlessly honest, touching on everything from sustainability and equality to safer neighbourhoods and an end to poverty.

Project Outcomes

The benefits of including creative arts were threefold. First, the ideas and content developed by the children were used as the foundation for both the director of public health (DPH) report and conference agenda, bringing both outputs to life. Second, the benefits to the CYP were evident, with feedback suggesting that children gained a sense of community and belonging through meeting new people. In addition, they reported increased confidence and feelings of control as a result of taking part:

When we did the performance of Serving Up, I felt really comfortable. I loved doing the rapping and being waitresses and doing the drama queen walk. I felt really sassy. I felt like I could do anything I liked. I don’t care what people think of me. I have more fun than feeling embarrassed (Young person).

Feedback from conference speakers and delegates was also resoundingly positive with evaluation responses commenting on the power of hearing directly from the voices of CYP and the positive impact the performance had on the audience:

Having the opportunity to hear Sir Michael Marmot speak was amazing, but the Unfolding Theatre production will live with me forever. (Delegate)

I loved the young boy’s poem also which was heartfelt and conveyed hopes and dreams. (Delegate)

Third, the input of CYP has been key to shaping the schedule of work for Newcastle City Council and its partners in becoming a Marmot City over the next 2 years. As a result of the CYP input, a commitment has been made to learn from lived experience and foster genuine co-production methodologies. The themes identified from the creative work of the CYP have shaped key priority areas for focus, including the commercial determinants of health, gender and community safety, all issues identified as barriers to living a healthy life in Newcastle.

Implications

These examples add to an emerging body of evidence for the role of creative arts in engaging communities in the policy-making process. Previous examples of participation in non-health-related policy-making using the arts have reported similar benefits to those experienced by the CYP in Newcastle, including increased feelings of agency and community. ⁷ Also in agreement was a large study conducted in South Wales that adopted art as a process to generate new forms of knowledge. ⁸ Similar to the two Newcastle case studies, the Welsh study reported the value of arts-based approaches in gathering local knowledge and lived experience.

This project demonstrates that when used effectively, collaboration with the creative arts can be an effective tool for public health policy-makers. This project enables the gathering of evidence and engagement with communities while also benefitting the wellbeing of the participants and audience of the output.