Music as a determinant of health among First Nations people in Australia: A scoping narrative review
Abstract
Issue Addressed:
While social determinants frameworks are still popular in research about First Nations health in Australia, a growing body of research prefers cultural determinants of health models. Cultural determinants models provide a holistic, strength-based framework to explain connections between health and contextual factors, including the potential role of music and its impact on social and emotional well-being. Given the growing international recognition of links between music, health, and wellbeing through bodies such as the World Health Organisation, this article examines whether and how music practices are acknowledged in First Nations determinants of health literature.
Methods:
We conducted a scoping narrative review of literature from five databases: Scopus, PsycInfo, CINAHL, PubMed and ProQuest Central. The search returned 60 articles published since 2017, which we analysed in NVivo for common themes.
Results:
usic was only explicitly identified as a determinant of health in two studies. Yet, participants in five studies identified music and song as directly impacting their social and emotional well-being. When we broadened our frame of analysis to include other forms of expressive cultural practice, one quarter of included studies empirically acknowledged the role of expressive cultural practice for social and emotional well-being.
Conclusion:
While many recent studies identify the impact of First Nations' expressive practices broadly, they miss important features of First Nations music as a potentially unique cultural, social, political and ecological determinant of health.
So What?:
There is an opportunity for future research and health determinant modelling to explicitly examine the role of First Nations music and other creative practices for social and emotional well-being.
RAS ID
71534
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2024
Volume
35
Issue
4
Funding Information
Australian Research Council
Open access publishing facilitated by Griffith University, as part of the Wiley - Griffith University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.
School
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA)
Grant Number
ARC Number : IN210100044
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Publisher
Wiley
Comments
Scarfe, B., Apps, K., Sunderland, N., Graham, P., Bartleet, B. L., Barry, G., ... & Bracknell, C. (2024). Music as a determinant of health among First Nations people in Australia: A scoping narrative review. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 35(4), 924-935. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.865