Health insurer, Bupa, has launched a campaign called ‘Express Your Health’ alongside new research showing that nearly half of adults surveyed across three countries do not spend any time on creative activities.
The campaign, which is running globally, including in Hong Kong, encourages people to share health experiences through creative expression. It coincides with a survey of 4,000 adults in the UK, Spain, and Australia commissioned by Bupa.
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The survey found that while 85% of respondents recognized that activities such as drawing, doodling, painting, or crafts can have a positive impact on health and wellbeing, 55% of those who do not make time for creative activities said they could not remember the last time they did any. Among those who could remember, 35% said it was more than a year ago.
Almost half (47%) of respondents reported spending no time on creative activities. Around a quarter cited lack of time (24%), lack of inspiration (26%), and tiredness after work (28%) as barriers.
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Contributors to the campaign include Hong Kong-based digital artist Sophia Hotung, who shares her experience of autoimmune relapse and how art gave her a way to express and make sense of her experiences with illness. Other contributors include Olympic diver Tom Daley, Paralympian Richard Whitehead, and Australian Football League player Cody Weightman. Stories represented span fertility, sickle cell, diabetes, anxiety, ageing, grief, and other health experiences.
“For me, art is a way to express and understand my life experiences, which include moments of disability, limitation, and illness,” said Hotung.
“After autoimmune relapses left me bedbound, I taught myself digital art, transforming what was isolation and hopelessness into a creative practice on my own terms. Digital art enables and empowers me to create, even when my body is limited. Entering that flow state of creation allows me both to escape and ground myself through stretches of joy and difficulty. I love that this campaign facilitates authentic creative expression about and through illness and I’m proud to work with Bupa to show others the powerful and positive impact of art on wellness.”
“This work highlights something we see globally: when people are given the space to share their health experiences, it can be transformative,” said Fiona Bosman, Group Brand Director, Bupa.
“Through this campaign, we’re encouraging people to express themselves creatively, because when words are hard to find, creativity can help us process, communicate and connect, and ultimately take greater control of our health.”
Bupa is inviting people to share their health story through creativity as part of a growing global collection on the campaign site. People in Hong Kong can submit their own creative expression to the online collection. Tips and prompts are available to help people begin a 30-minute creative activity.
The campaign site is at expressyourhealth.bupa.com