Physician-prescribed museum visit benefits on mental health: results of an experimental study.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Single-arm uncontrolled pre-post experimental study
PubMed 40438362 · doi:10.3389/fmed.2025.1590145
What was done
A prospective, single-arm pre-post experimental study evaluated the impact of a single physician-prescribed visit to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) on mental health and quality of life. A total of 86 patients (mean age 51.5 ± 17.6 years, 82.6% female) completed web-based self-administered questionnaires before and after their visit. Well-being was evaluated using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) and quality of life via the EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D).
What was found
Participants showed statistically significant increases after the museum visit in both WEMWBS scores (p <= 0.001) and EQ-5D scores (p <= 0.002), though absolute score changes were not reported in the abstract. Greater improvement in WEMWBS scores was significantly associated with baseline self-reported unhappiness (beta = 15.15, 95% CI: 4.30 to 25.99, p = 0.007) and having an acute disease (beta = 10.76, 95% CI: 3.15 to 18.37, p = 0.006).
Why it matters
This study provides preliminary feasibility data for museum-based social prescription programs in clinical practice, highlighting potential short-term mental health benefits especially for individuals with lower baseline well-being or acute illness.
Limits
The study lacked a control group, making it impossible to separate intervention effects from placebo effects, natural recovery, or regression to the mean. The sample was small, predominantly female (82.6%), limited to a single institution, and did not assess long-term sustainability of the observed improvements.
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