Arts meets science to promote awareness of allergy in a school

Background:

Many adolescents experience allergic diseases but they represent a 'hard to reach' group for the purposes of health education. The objective of this study was work with pupils in a school on a collaborative arts-science focussing on allergy in order to heighten their awareness and knowledge of allergic disease.

Methods:

The study particiapnts were fifteen 14-15 year-old pupils who were talented scientists. At the start of the project they participated in three hours of lectures and small group discussion addressing

* What do we mean by allergy? (pathophysiology)

* Who gets allergy? (epidemiology)

* How does it impact on people's lives? (clinical)

* What makes it better? (pharmacology/therapeutics)

They were then challenged with the task of developing art installations for their school that would convey the key messages they had learned about allergy to their peers.

Results:

The students worked with a team of four artists (Anna dumitriu, Rachel Cohen, Carol Quinn and Caroline Doyle). They developed five installations around the school and its grounds depicting allergenic items, production of exhibition catalogue, evening private viewing attended by 50 visitors for which the pupils acted as guides and prepared food free from common allergens. The exhibition was then open to the public for the remainder of the term. Installations used a range of media including drawing, textile art, sculpture, videos and performance art.

Conclusion:

This activity generated a themed exhibition within the school that promoted discussion about allergy amongst pupils, teachers, parents and the public.