This network, which is led by Dr Brianna Robertson-Kirkland from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Clinical Fellow, Liesbeth Tip from the University of Edinburgh, will provide a space for a diverse community of singing practitioners and researchers working on singing and health, to come together to share knowledge, ideas and practice and to open up avenues for communication between individuals and organisations. The Research Assistant on the project is Sophie Boyd, who is both an active researcher and a Singing for Health practitioner.
This project will bring together Singing for Health practitioners, researchers, and health professionals from across Scotland to form a network which supports practitioners and facilitates collaboration and knowledge exchange. Singing for Health groups support the management of a range of conditions such as respiratory conditions, dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, and mental health concerns. As of yet, there is no Scotland-wide network that unites practitioners, researchers and health professionals working in these health-related fields.
The first stage of the network is to digitally map the locations of Singing for Health groups, as well as detailing the evidence-based practice in order for health practitioners to be well informed of the local Singing for Health activities and the potential impacts they might have on individuals, patients, service users, and singers. The digital map will be hosted on the network’s open-access website (coming soon) and will provide the first comprehensive list of Singing for Health services in Scotland, which will be useful for individuals with a range of conditions and health professionals such as nurses, GPs and link workers who will be able see if there are Singing for Health groups in their area. The network will also host a range of workshops to support Singing for Health groups allowing them to showcase their work as well as providing a space to consider larger issues including how to engage and work alongside medical professionals. Finally, the network will produce a podcast series that showcases different approaches and issues related to Singing for Health.
These pages will be updated as the project progresses. If you would like to get in touch with us about the project, please email singing-for-health@rcs.ac.uk.
