Arts, Nature, and Health Policies in the United States

Introduction

Across the current and developing evidence base linking arts, culture, nature, and health, creative and nature-based engagement emerge as tools for improving health and wellbeing, including social connection, belonging, and meaningful participation in community life. Yet, in the United States, policies connecting arts and nature with health remain fragmented across federal, state, and local systems, with limited shared language or overarching policy framework.

This narrative review will examine the U.S. policy landscape to understand how arts, nature, and health are currently connected across sectors and levels of governance. By identifying existing approaches, gaps, and enabling conditions, the review aims to provide a foundation for more integrated, equitable, and sustainable policy development.

Scope

Researchers will map and interpret publicly available U.S.-focused policies, frameworks, reports, strategic plans, and other relevant literature addressing arts, nature, health, wellbeing, and social prescribing. Sources will be examined across federal, state, and local levels, including healthcare, public health, cultural policy, parks and recreation, environmental health, aging services, behavioral health, and community development.

The review will explore:

• Mapping the landscape: What policies linking the arts and nature to health currently exist at the national, state, and local levels in the United States?
• Integration into health systems and coverage: Where are arts, nature, and health policies integrated into primary care, behavioral health, and public health systems, and how—if at all—are they incorporated into public and private coverage frameworks (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, commercial insurance)?
• Health promotion and prevention versus management and treatment emphasis: How do arts, nature, and health policies differ in their emphasis on prevention‑oriented strategies compared with management and treatment‑oriented approaches?
• Financing models and equity: What financing models are used to support arts, nature, and health initiatives in national, state, and local policies, and how are these models associated with equity of access and participation
• Implementation challenges, gaps, and enabling conditions: What common challenges, gaps, and enabling factors are reported or implied in the implementation of arts, nature, and health policies across jurisdictions in the United States?

Insights and Deliverables

The review will provide a clearer picture of how arts, nature, and health are positioned within U.S. policy and systems, with particular attention to health equity and access.

The findings may also support a conceptual and visual map of the U.S. policy landscape, illustrating whether arts and nature are framed as leisure and cultural participation, prevention, treatment support, behavioral health interventions, community infrastructure, determinants of health, or reimbursable health-related services.

Together, these insights will help clarify where enabling conditions for arts, nature, health, and social prescribing approaches already exist, and where opportunities remain for future policy development.

Project Team

This work is led by Lab co-director Prof. Nisha Sajnani (JA&HL, NYU Steinhardt), Dr. Alexandra K. Rodriguez (UF Center for Arts in Medicine), and Dr. Elisabeth Bahr (JA&HL, NYU Steinhardt), who are joined by associates at the Jameel Arts & Health Lab and UFCAM, along with scholars and policy workers across the United States.

Photo credit: Jesus Iniguez, Center for Cultural Power, Courtesy of One Nation/One Project (ONOP)