WAHWN News

Creative health sector resilient but pressures growing, new survey finds

There is a growing gap between the value placed on creative health and the resources made available to sustain it, according to latest State of the Sector survey.

The survey, completed by 180 people working in creative health across the UK and Ireland in autumn 2025, suggest that while the impact of creativity and the arts on health and wellbeing is increasingly recognised, significant challenges remain in funding, sustainability and workforce wellbeing.

The annual survey – delivered in partnership between WAHWN; the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance; Arts, Culture and Wellbeing Scotland; Arts Care (Northern Ireland); the Northern Ireland Creative Health Network; Realta; and London Arts and Health – found that creative health work is relied on to support communities affected by health inequalities, loneliness, poverty, discrimination and barriers to accessing traditional services. However, short-term funding, limited commissioning opportunities and increasing administrative pressures are making it difficult for organisations and freelancers to keep going.

Many practitioners reported working across multiple roles, taking on unpaid hours or reducing their rates to continue delivering programmes they believe make a difference, highlighting concerns about burnout and the long-term sustainability of the workforce.

Key messages

Creative health is delivering meaningful impact for individuals and communities.
The workforce is skilled and committed but under increasing pressure.
Current funding models are limiting long-term sustainability.
Fair pay and investment in infrastructure are essential.
Creative health needs to move from short-term projects towards being embedded within health and wellbeing systems.
While the survey provides an important UK-wide picture of the sector, too few people working in Wales responded to the research, making it hard to provide a detailed Wales-specific analysis. WAHWN will continue to explore what these findings mean for practitioners and organisations across Wales and the need for further research into the Welsh context.

While the survey provides an important UK-wide picture of the sector, too few people working in Wales responded to the research, making it hard to provide a detailed Wales-specific analysis. WAHWN will continue to explore what these findings mean for practitioners and organisations across Wales and the need for further research into the Welsh context.