Introduction: Though the evidence of the role of the arts in mental health is growing, no systematic review has focused on the impact of art groups in non‐clinical settings in the process of recovery following the CHIME framework.Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of engaging in community‐based art groups in mental health recovery.Method: A search in five electronic databases for relevant research using quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods published between 2000 and 2019 identified nine eligible studies.Results: While there was great methodological heterogeneity, most studies were qualitative, used visual arts, facilitated by artists and assessed by mental health nurses, and took place in community locations or artistic venues. Quantitative outcomes, though few, provided evidence of increased well‐being, and qualitative outcomes corresponded mostly with the recovery process of Connectedness. Additional outcomes related to the settings were a sense of safety and to the intervention: self‐expression, development of skills and achievements, and the impact of final exhibitions and peer leadership.Discussion: Studies should aim at prospective designs following mixed methods approaches, with larger and gender‐sensitive samples, control groups and follow‐up assessments, and evaluate cost‐effectiveness.Implications for practice: Community‐based art groups which increase well‐being and promote connectedness should be key in recovery‐action planning.

Patterns of exposure and policies aiming at reducing physical contact might have changed the social distribution of COVID-19 incidence over the course of the pandemic. Thus, we studied the temporal trends in the association between area-level deprivation and COVID-19 incidence rate by Basic Health Zone (minimum administration division for health service provision) in Madrid, Spain, from March 2020 to September 2021. We found an overall association between deprivation and COVID-19 incidence. This association varied over time; areas with higher deprivation showed higher COVID-19 incidence rates from July to November 2020 and August–September 2021, while, by contrast, higher deprivation areas showed lower COVID-19 incidence rates in December 2020 and July 2021.

The main aim of this study is to explore problematic technology use among adolescents (Internet, video games, mobiles, and television) and its association with anxiety symptoms. Furthermore, we also analysed the possible moderating role of life satisfaction in this relationship during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Spain. A cross‐sectional survey of 4025 children and adolescents (52% females and 48% males) between 12 and 18 years old was carried out to explore problematic technology use and its correlation with anxiety and life satisfaction after pandemic lockdown. Four multivariate regressions containing the independent variable (problematic technology use), the moderator (life satisfaction), and their interaction were entered to predict the outcome (anxiety). The moderated models were examined using SPSS PROCESS macro software (Model 1). Analyses showed significant positive correlations with anxiety and negative correlations with life satisfaction regarding problematic technology use (mobile phone, television, and internet). Both gender and age had a significant direct effect on anxiety (showing that women and older participants had the greatest anxiety). In the moderation analysis, when life satisfaction was higher, the presence of anxiety symptoms depended to a greater extent on the problematic use of technology. Our results confirm that problematic technology use is related to higher levels of anxiety in adolescents, with differences by age and gender. The results also showed that life satisfaction mediated the relationship between technology abuse and anxiety, such that when life satisfaction was higher, the presence of anxiety symptoms was more dependent on problematic technology use. These findings have implications for health and education professionals.

Mental health services need reliable and valid instruments to measure mental health recovery outcomes, and the only available one in Spanish is arduous. Adapting an instrument is more efficient than creating a new one as it enables international comparison research. The aim of this study was to conduct a cross‐cultural adaptation of the 15‐item Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery.Fifty‐four participants engaged in a five‐stage systematic and standardized process carried out from November 2019 to November 2020. Professional translators (n = 4) from the Translation Service Center for Foreign Languages of the Universidad de Alcalá participated in the direct translation, synthesis and back translation stages, and mental health professionals (n = 33) and service users (n = 17) from the Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga and the Hospital Universitario Virgen de la Victoria in Andalucía (Spain), with an average of 19.2 (SD 12.86) years of experience in mental health, participated in the committee of experts and pilot debriefing stages. Additionally, legibility was assessed.Out of the 15‐items of the questionnaire, three (20%) were equal amongst translations, three items (20%) of the back translations matched the original questionnaire and discrepancies identified were adapted accordingly. Seven items (46.7%) were approved online by experts and consensus of alternative translations was reached for the rest. The average time spent completing the questionnaire by service users during the face‐to‐face pilot was 4.12 min (SD 2.25). Internal consistency obtained was ω = 0.95 and α = 0.91. Debriefing findings reported the questionnaire as comprehensible (97.1%), adequate in wording (91.2%), formal in language (55.9%) and adequate in terms of length (100%). The questionnaire scored 65.53, ‘normal’ readability, on the Inflesz scale.The adapted instrument has conceptual, linguistic, cultural and metric equivalence to the original instrument.

The World Health Organization encourages mental health services to adopt a strategic intersectoral approach by acknowledging the potential of the arts and the value of culture on the process of mental health recovery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of participatory arts in museums on mental health recovery. A quasi‐experimental, pre‐post and multicentre study was carried out. By using a mixed methods evaluation at baseline and at 3 months, quantitative outcome measures were used to assess the changes in recovery and social support and qualitative interviews to explore the self‐perceived impact on five processes of recovery. One hundred mental health service users participated for 3 years in the face‐to‐face programme RecuperArte, of which the data of 54 were analysed. The results indicate a significant increase in recovery measured with the QPR‐15‐SP (42 vs. 44; p = 0.034) and almost significant in functional social support measured with the DUKE‐UNC (41.50 vs. 43.50; p = 0.052), with almost large (r = 0.29) and medium (r = 0.26) effect sizes, respectively. Participants perceived mostly an impact on the recovery process of Meaning in life 30/54 (55.56%), Hope and optimism about the future 29/54 (53.7%) and Connectedness 21/54 (38.89%), followed by Identity 6/54 (11.11%) and Empowerment 5/54 (9.26%). The findings contribute to the growing evidence of the potential of the arts as a therapeutic tool, the value of museums as therapeutic spaces and the role of nurses in intersectoral coordination, between the mental health and cultural sectors, as facilitators and researchers of these evidence‐based practices.