An R&D project funded by the Wellcome Trust Project Aims The Aims of this project were to make animations that would alleviate stress levels in patients waiting to see doctors or to have treatment. This was achieved in 25% of patient viewers. Project description A series of 6 three minute, 20 second animations derived from movements of groups of insects, abstracted and simplified against non-representational backgrounds derived from natural environments, placed within healthcare waiting areas to alleviate stress. The animations were made specifically for waiting areas of hospitals; and were made with source material and help from the zoology department of the Natural history museum, and developed with collaborative input from Maggie Chapman a clinical hypnotherapist, and with Dr Cordelia Feuchtwang acting as a consultant during their development. Once completed, the animations played in a forced random order, to prevent anticipation and expectation in the viewer. The project was evaluated via interview and questionnaire at each location. They were sited in three locations: Clinic G (phlebotomy) in Outpatients, St Mary’s NHS, London playing during clinic hours for two weeks. Women’s Outpatients Barts NHS, London, playing during clinics for two weeks Yatton NHS Family Practice, Yatton Somerset, playing continuously for three weeks. The staging in each location had to differ due to the constraints of working within a busy hospital or healthcare setting. Project Audience Yatton approx 2250 patients (over 3 week period including busy half-term week) Barts 600 (over 2 weeks) St Marys 2100 (250 patients attending outpatient appointments per week and 800 patients for blood tests) Total number of people (excluding staff) who saw project 4950 Background and interests of team members in addition to artist Suky Best. Maggie Chapman is a lecturer and clinical hypnotherapist. She has worked closely with the British Medical Association and The London Heart Hospital to develop the use of hypnotherapy within conventional medical practice, and is also is a senior lecturer at the London College of Clinical Hypnosis. She helped develop the animations to engage with certain parts of the brain that would help alleviate stress in the viewer. She has had an interest in this for many years. She also developed the evaluation process, designing the questionnaires, collating and analysing their data and setting guidelines for any interviews during evaluation. She is also director of City Minds and is currently running a longditudinal research study in the education sector on the effects of relaxation. Mandy Holloway of the Zoology Department at the Natural History Museum identified suitable insects, fish and organisms that would make an appropriate starting point for animations of group behaviour. She also explained their behaviour, which informed the conceptual base for abstraction. Mandy Holloway was able to draw on the knowledge and expertise of colleagues in the museum suggesting and arranging fro algae other microbes to be filmed. Dr Cordelia Feuchtwang a General Practitioner based in North Somerset acted as a consultant during the development stage of the project seeing the work every month or so for an informal…