Wellbeing Case Study: Heritage and Wellbeing for NHS Staff Project

Heritage and Wellbeing for NHS Staff (HerWellNHS) is project led by Prof. Joanna Sofaer at the University of Southampton in collaboration with Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth and the Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust. The feasibility study evaluated the short- and medium-term wellbeing benefits of engaging with heritage for an exemplar high-risk population, specifically 80 NHS staff experiencing low levels of wellbeing. It focused on:

• assessing and identifying the wellbeing effects of high vs low intensity unmediated (self-directed and unguided) in-person visits to heritage sites;
• understanding how much exposure to heritage is necessary to experience wellbeing effects – and whether and how benefits may be accumulated;
• how long wellbeing effects may last following a visit;
• what the nature of these wellbeing effects may be.

This 10-month project finished in October 2023 and established appropriate psychological measures (qualitative and quantitative), tested a web-based data collection interface, examined participant choices and their characteristics, and assessed participant adherence and response rates prior to development of a clinical trial. It will act as proof of concept, generating a case for the promise of unmediated heritage visits as an effective mental health intervention. In addition to data that will be used to inform development of a large-scale clinical trial, outputs will include submission of a paper to the journal Pilot and Feasibility Studies.