This study looked at the effect of visual art on observed stress and aggressive behavior in psychiatric patients. A qualitative and quantitative methodological approach was utilized to examine explicitly how different types of art affected behavioral stress in psychiatric patients at East Alabama Medical Center in at the Women's Psychiatric Unit. Anecdotal information was secured through nurses written documentation of patient behavioral alterations while being exposed to three different types of art images: one realistic nature photograph with savannah-like properties, an abstract representational nature image with comparable features by Van Gogh and one purely abstract image by Pollock. PRN data was collected for the days that the different artwork was displayed. Findings showed that requested PRN was significantly lower on days that the realistic nature image (with savannah-like properties) was displayed as compared to days when the abstract image was displayed. The request for lower medication makes a powerful business case for an evidence-based approach to art.

Presented at SAH'09 (Society for Arts in Healthcare)