Mental Distress at Heritage Places: A behavioural science-based approach to wellbeing inequality

This paper demonstrates the value of Behavioural Science to heritage practice and policy relating to mental health and wellbeing. It tests the effectivity of behavioural science as a mechanism to strengthen the equality lens at heritage places, to reduce potential mental distress caused to specific visitors and through strategic action improve their contribution to wider mental health policy. The Behaviour Change Wheel has been utilised extensively in public health care settings to design policy-based strategic action plans to achieve high level objectives related to improved mental health; by applying this framework to heritage this research demonstrates how heritage places can support international mental health policy, by providing evidence-based actions and equitable provisions to support community mental health care. Biltmore Estate (USA) is used as a case study to examine if behaviour change methods could offer an actionable lens for understanding how participation in heritage affects visitor and community mental wellbeing. This research engaged with the community and heritage practitioners to co-develop and apply interventions to decrease barriers and increase enablers for diverse community members to be provided with the conditions and experiences to engage, emotionally connect and feel valued, and in turn improve their wellbeing and mental health. The research demonstrated the contribution of a Behavioural Science to understanding visitor behaviour and experiences at heritage sites, and in providing localised and community driven frameworks to support future organisational decision-making processes and policy implementation strategies related to how heritage sites reduce wellbeing inequities, and contribute to wider local, national and international mental health objectives.