TY - BOOK
T1 - Nature-based interventions for health and wellbeing: what works?
AU - Harrison, Laura Jane
AU - Coventry, Peter
AU - Armitt, Hannah
AU - Chew-Graham, Carolyn A
AU - Churchill, Rachel
AU - Darcy, Patricia
AU - Knowles, Sarah Elizabeth
AU - Dallimer, Martin
AU - White, Piran Crawfurd Limond
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - Nature-based interventions are organised outdoor activities that aim to improve people's health through engaging with nature. These interventions are increasingly being offered through green social prescribing, where link workers support people to access activities that 'matter to them'. Identifying reliable and accessible research evidence about the effectiveness of nature-based interventions can be difficult for providers, health professionals, link workers and service users. We summarise evidence from 12 recent systematic reviews of studies of nature-based interventions. We have also created an online interactive version of this evidence review. The headline finding from the reviews is that taking part in nature-based interventions can be beneficial for a range of mental health problems and also boosts social interactions. Few studies have evaluated the impact of nature-based interventions on physical health or physical health risk factors, and the evidence is more equivocal. The reviews judged that the majority of the studies had a moderate to high risk of bias because of the study design, such as the way participants were selected. Most studies concentrated on evaluating short term outcomes only. There is little evidence about how the quality of green and blue spaces might contribute to the effectiveness of nature-based interventions. The optimum intensity and duration of nature-based activities is still uncertain. There is no strong evidence about whether particular nature-based interventions are more beneficial for particular populations. Nature-based interventions incorporate multiple interacting elements, but this complexity is rarely described or evaluated.
AB - Nature-based interventions are organised outdoor activities that aim to improve people's health through engaging with nature. These interventions are increasingly being offered through green social prescribing, where link workers support people to access activities that 'matter to them'. Identifying reliable and accessible research evidence about the effectiveness of nature-based interventions can be difficult for providers, health professionals, link workers and service users. We summarise evidence from 12 recent systematic reviews of studies of nature-based interventions. We have also created an online interactive version of this evidence review. The headline finding from the reviews is that taking part in nature-based interventions can be beneficial for a range of mental health problems and also boosts social interactions. Few studies have evaluated the impact of nature-based interventions on physical health or physical health risk factors, and the evidence is more equivocal. The reviews judged that the majority of the studies had a moderate to high risk of bias because of the study design, such as the way participants were selected. Most studies concentrated on evaluating short term outcomes only. There is little evidence about how the quality of green and blue spaces might contribute to the effectiveness of nature-based interventions. The optimum intensity and duration of nature-based activities is still uncertain. There is no strong evidence about whether particular nature-based interventions are more beneficial for particular populations. Nature-based interventions incorporate multiple interacting elements, but this complexity is rarely described or evaluated.
M3 - Commissioned report
BT - Nature-based interventions for health and wellbeing: what works?
ER -