Project representative:
Yukiko Honda(Assistant Professor/Graduate School of Medicine and School of Public Health/Kyoto University)

Collaborating researchers and co-researchers:
・Naoki Kondo(Professor/Graduate School of Medicine and School of Public Health/Kyoto University)
・Maho Haseda(Lecturer/Graduate School of Medicine and School of Public Health/Kyoto University)
・Hiroshi Habu(Research Fellow/Graduate School of Medicine and School of Public Health/Kyoto University)

Introducing this project

Social prescribing has emerged as an innovative approach to healthcare. It focuses on connecting people with local nonmedical resources, such as art and cultural activities, to support health and well-being. In Japan, Yabu City has been at the forefront of adopting this approach. Yabu City has recently incorporated the concept of positive health into its practices. Proposed by Dr. Machteld Huber from the Netherlands, positive health emphasizes the ability of individuals to take control of their lives and adapt even in challenging situations. The aim of this study is to explore how art and cultural activities contribute to health and well-being within the context of social prescribing and how positive health can be practically implemented in communities. The study was conducted through three projects: (1) interviews with stakeholders about dialogue using positive health tools, (2) participation in a social prescribing training program (link worker training) to gather information, and (3) planning a workshop based on the INNATE Framework. The results showed that, in Project 1, municipal staff engaged in focus group interviews revealed both the current status and challenges of social prescribing. Participants (n = 10) noted that using the spider web tool (a visualization method from positive health) not only helped them listen to others but also encouraged them to express their own feelings, highlighting the importance of dialogue. In Project 2, a training program held in Yabu City in November 2025 covered social isolation, social prescribing, and positive health through lectures and workshops. Project 3 involved planning a workshop based on the INNATE Framework to map cultural activities and was targeted for implementation in 2025.