Mapping review of musician well-being literature.

Abstract

While musician health literature has grown significantly in the past three decades, a holistic understanding of musician well-being remains lacking. This mapping review aimed to create a topographical review of existing literature on musician well-being to identify key knowledge gaps. This review sought to identify the aspects of musician well-being that have recently been studied, the musician populations that have been studied, and the study designs that have been used to assess musician well-being. This mapping review design was informed by the Focused Mapping Review and Synthesis (FMRS) approach. Studies were categorized and visualized based on study design, type of musician sampled (i.e., profession, instrument, musical genre), and well-being determinants, using the Ecology of Musical Performance (EMP) Model as a foundational framework. This review found that the majority of well-being studies identified focused on musculoskeletal health. Additionally, few intervention studies were identified, and all involved samples of music students in intervention studies were in K-12 or higher education programs. While the EMP model proposes a holistic approach to understanding musician well-being, many crucial well-being determinants highlighted by the model have not been recently studied within the musician health research. Addressing these gaps will provide a more comprehensive foundation for improving the health and well-being of all musicians.