Visual art- and music-based interventions as adjuvants in the treatment of eating disorders: a systematic review and a theoretical model

ABSTRACT

Aim

To assess the effect of visual art- and music-based interventions in the treatment of eating disorders.

Methods

This study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020161503). Six databases (CINAHL, EMBASE, Lilacs, PsycINFO, PubMed and The Cochrane Library) were consulted. The searches were performed on 19 June 2019, and updated on 18 March 2022. No restriction on language, date, or publication status was applied. Methodological quality was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute’s instruments. All steps were performed by two independent reviewers and a third participated in the event of disagreement.

Results

Eight studies were included. Few statistically significant results were found. Overall, both interventions might help to reduce negative emotional states.

Conclusion

Visual art- and music-based interventions present limited and inconclusive scientific evidence in patients with eating disorders and therefore their effectiveness is currently unknown. A theoretical model is proposed to guide future research. Further studies are needed to clarify their clinical relevance.

KEYWORDS:

• Anorexia nervosa
• art
• bulimia nervosa
• eating disorders
• music

Acknowledgments

This work was conducted as a final paper during the first author’s specialization in Public Health at University of Santa Catarina State. We would like to thank the Brazilian Ministry of Health for the scholarship provided to the first author during her specialization and the reviewers for their suggestions that helped to improve the quality of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2023.2218408

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.