AHIA recognises the vital role of arts in health and its value as a tool for social sustainability in healthcare, not unlike fit-for-purpose medical equipment that needs to be considered early in design and cared for thereafter, and commits to improved arts integration in health settings through this Guideline, that is closely aligned with international and national research, policies, standards with implementation dependent on individual jurisdictions.

The guideline offers a simple toolkit to support early and effective integration of arts in health infrastructure projects. Specifically, the guideline addresses key opportunities to improved arts integration:

• clarity of purpose for arts in health settings;
• commissioning roadmap for earlier integration of arts in health infrastructure from master-planning and functional design briefing;
• governance models for effective decision making; and lastly,
• access to resources supporting the inclusion of Arts in Health initiatives.