ABSTRACT
Health humanities is a fast-growing field of research, education, and practice that has generated a more inclusive, democratizing and applied approach to arts and humanities in health care, health, and well-being. Its rise over the past 13 years represents an interdisciplinary departure from the longer-established tradition of medical humjanities. However, it seeks to enjoin the medical humanities as well as fields such as arts and health, expressive therapies, community arts, and social prescribing to work more collaboratively to advance creative public health. This introductory chapter includes a brief overiew of the origins of the field of health humanities, its emergent definitions, its early critical reception, and its practical application and work, or praxis. It also includes a short outline of the diverse themes treated in this important and diverse volume.
