Table 2

Summary of rationales for using arts-based health services research (ABHSR)

Domain	Subdomain
Capture aspects of topic that may be overlooked, ignored or not conceptualised by other methods	Enables participants to convey their experiences with more contextual and historical depth Provides more opportunities for individualised creative expression Makes the reflections and emotional processing of participants more concrete Explores topics from various angles Conceptualises experiences from outside the norm of population
	Identify or confirm problems in communities that may be amenable to collaboration and research Informs communities about outcomes of an intervention, priority setting, raising awareness and tailoring interventions Provides better access to data on the processes and mechanisms of behaviour change Confers new future visions, strategies and policies Creates novel analytical opportunities to learn about what matters to participants and why
	Allows researchers to explore topics in marginalised and underserved groups Creates environments that increase children participation in research Increases the ability and capabilities of participants to community about their experiences compared with other methods
	Prompts higher creativity with analysing participant experiences and perspectives Provides powerful imagery for understanding experiences Generates an opportunity to obtain an ‘insider view’
	Enhance the recall and accuracy of participant narratives Provides participants with physical prompts that may aid accurate recollection
Allows participants to better reflect on their own experiences	Individual level Allows individuals to engage in self-improvement Encourages participants to engage in a ‘healing process’ Enables individuals to ‘find peace’ in previous traumatic experiences Enriches self-understanding
	Family level Increases participant knowledge to motivate behaviour change and action Improves communication within family about problems and difficulties Encourages individuals to support family in reflection about community needs
	Community level Increases personal knowledge and empowerment that promotes engagement in broader community activities
Generate valuable community knowledge to inform intervention design and delivery	Builds capacity for change Provides tools to researchers to better understand communities and generate evidence that supports action and communication
	Facilitates community discussion and critical reflection Improves uptake and legitimacy of interventions Use of methods that are more preferred by communities for research Acknowledge that communities are experts in their own lives
Make research more participatory	Brings policy, advocacy and empowerment into research Confers strong impact on policy and practice Encourages behaviour change in broader community Orients decision makers to attend to and act on findings Increases the collaborative capacity of stakeholders, organisations and communities Builds and sustains partnerships between stakeholders Allows for improved collaboration between participants
Make research more participatory	Encourages participants to adopt a more active role in research Minimises attrition Encourages participants to become leaders in their community Adds a more person-centred approach to research Stimulates dialogue on hidden issues Transforms relationships between participants and researchers Shifts power from researchers to participants Teaching and learning occur from participants to researchers Avoids passive forms of representation and engagement Promotes choice and agency in the research process