Artists care: How to structure care and supervision for community musicians working in challenging and complex settings

Working in secure settings can have a detrimental impact on the personal mental health and well-being of community musicians. The Artists Care project explores how supervision and care for those working in secure settings can be structured, funded and embedded within organizational structures. A rapid evidence assessment (REA) was undertaken of existing research in the care and supervision of health and social care professionals working in challenging settings. An REA protocol was then developed. A total of 15,840 searches were completed, and 8677 articles were identified for review. After the selection criteria were applied, 36 eligible texts were identified. After analysis against the quality framework, six articles were included in the final stage of the REA. The findings point to a matrix of supervision comprising a tripartite model of care and support provided by a combination of self (individual), peer (informal) and professional (formal) sources. The findings highlight a paucity of research into best practice within supervision, care and support.