Contribution of an arts-based approach in collaboration with Cirque du Monde, by Cirque du Soleil to the mobilization and understanding of research results in a rural community

Abstract

Introduction: It takes an average of 17 years for 14% of research to find its way to caregivers and patients. The starting-point of this project was to ask how we could democratize the information generated by our study. What would happen if researchers collaborate with artists and citizen groups to share information and evidence through artistic channels? The objective of the project was to test and document, through the realization and evaluation of a conference-show around a pilot study on the emergency department of a small rural town (Baie-St-Paul, Québec, Canada), the hypothesis of the successful contribution of arts and collaboration with the community setting to mobilize and understand research. Methods: In March 2018, the research team presented the results of the pilot study in the form of a “conference-show”. The results of the project, a portrait of the emergency departments, were presented by the principal investigator (RF), with planned interventions from the artists and the youth from the community organisation (CDM). Evaluation questions pertained to the follow components of the conference-show: content, formula, potential impact, retention) . Results: About fifty people attended the conference. The questionnaire was completed by half of those present. Fifty percent of the survey participants were citizens, 50% were health care workers/physicians and policy makers. 82 % of respondents stated that their main motivation to attend the conference show was related to their interest health issues of their region. Participants rated “good or very good” the clarity of the statements (90%), the length of the presentation (86%), the content (95%) and the artistic performances (95%). Overall, the evening had a satisfaction rate of 86% . At the conclusion of the conference-show, 90% of people consider that the information presented was useful for the improvement of health care in their region and 94% of people felt they should take action to improve the health system of their region. The entire event was photographed and videotaped and drew widespread media attention[1]. Discussions: The evaluation of the evening is extremely positive and it led to a greater interest in the research. Well informed citizens become better contributors to their own health and care system, which is an important start to better integrated care. Conclusion: We believe that a well-crafted showcase conference and partnership with one or more community groups contribute to better engagement and understanding of the data presented. Lessons learned: Artists and community groups need to be more involved in the transfer of knowledge from health research. We must continue our work to develop the formula to make it more informative, engaging, and dynamic and inclusive. Limitation: The project was small-scale but it involves lots of time and resources form the research team and the local community group. Also, the investigation acted as a proof of concept. A better measure of the impact in the short and log term need to be undertaken. Suggestions for future research: This project raises the question of how the knowledge transfer could benefit from arts process? Reference: 1- Availlable from: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=chaire+de+recherche+en+m%C3%A9decine+d%27urgence

Keywords

• rural
• emergency department
• community activation
• knowledge transfer
• art-based methods