Stephen Clift

Emeritus Professor

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Background and research interests

Stephen Clift is Emeritus Professor for the Sidney De Haan Research Centre for Arts and Health. 

He has worked in the field of health promotion and public health for over twenty-five years, and has made contributions to research, practice and training on HIV/AIDS prevention, sex education, international travel and health and the health promoting school. His current interests relate to arts and heath and particularly the potential value of group singing for health and wellbeing. 

He is one of the founding editors of  Arts & Health: An international journal for research, policy and practice and co-editor of the Oxford Textbook for  Creative Arts, Health and Wellbeing.  He has worked very closely with the Royal Society for Public Health in promoting the field of arts and health, and established the Arts and Health Awards in 2008, and the Arts, Health and Wellbeing Special Interest Group, in 2015.

Current and recent projects

• Evaluation of singing groups for people with chronic respiratory illness (Singing for Better Breathing) in Lambeth and Southwark, and in Medway 

• An evaluation of the Cathedrals Group Choirs Festival 2018 

• The development and internationalisation of the Repository for Arts and Health Resources (RA&HR)  https://www.artshealthresources.org.uk

• Development of training provision on Arts, Health and Wellbeing for health professionals and professional artists https://www.ae-sop.org/aesop-institute

Recent publications

• Price, P., Phillips, J., Tallent, J., Clift, S. (2021) Singing group leaders’ experiences of online singing sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid survey. Journal of Music, Health and Wellbeing, Special Issue Music and COVID-19 (Autumn 2021) https://storage.googleapis.com/wzukusers/user-20563976/documents/70a39f34e9624c13925281b002d8ddf4/Price%2C%20S.%2C%20Phillips%2C%20J.%2C%20Tallent%2C%20J.%20and%20Clift%2C%20S..pdf; https://www.musichealthandwellbeing.co.uk/musicandcovid19

• Poulos, C., Poulos, R., Clift, S., Opher, S. et al. (2018) Arts on prescription for community dwelling older people with a range of health and wellness needs, Health and Social Care in the Community, 26, 6 (published online)

• Skingley, A., Clift, S., Hurley, S., Price, S., et al. (2018) Community singing groups for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Participant perspectives.  Perspectives in Public Health, 138, 1: 66-75.

• Clift, S., Manship, S. and Stephens, L. (2017)  Further evidence that singing fosters mental health and wellbeing: Findings from the West Kent and Medway project, Social Inclusion and Mental Health, 21, 1, 53-62. 
• Kwan, C. K. & Clift, S. (2017)  Exploring the processes of change facilitated by musical activities on mental wellness.  Nordic Journal of Music Therapy, 27, 2, 142-157
• Clift, S., Page, S., Daykin, N and Peasgood, E. (2016)  The perceived effects of singing on the health and well-being of wives and partners of members of the British Armed Forces: A cross-sectional survey, Public Health, 138, 93-100. 

• Lewis, A., Cave, P., Stern, M., Welch, L., et al. (2016) Singing for Lung Health—a systematic review of the literature and consensus statement. npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine, 26, 16080; published online 1 December 2016.

• Skingley, A., Martin, A. and Clift, S. (2016) The contribution of community singing groups to the well-being of older people: Participant perspectives from the United Kingdom, Journal of Applied Gerontology, 35, 12, 1302-1324.

• Stickley, T., Parr, H., Daykin, N., Clift, S., De Nora, T. et al.  (2016) Arts, health and wellbeing: reflections on a national seminar series and building a UK research network Arts and Health: An international journal of research, policy and practice, 9, 1, 14-25.

• Coulton, S., Clift, S., Skingley, A. and Rodriguez, J. (2015) Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community singing on mental health-related quality of life of older people: randomised controlled trial, British Journal of Psychiatry, 211, 6, 1–6.

• Hinshaw, T., Clift, S. Hulbert, S. and Camic, P. (2015) Group singing and young people's psychological well-being, International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 17, 1, 46-63.