ORCID Profile
0000-0002-9563-0026
Current Organisation
The University of Edinburgh
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-09-2017
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Date: 07-09-2007
Publisher: F1000 Research Ltd
Date: 20-09-2022
DOI: 10.12688/WELLCOMEOPENRES.18175.1
Abstract: Natural environments, such as parks, woodlands and lakes, have positive impacts on health and wellbeing. Urban Green and Blue Spaces (UGBS), and the activities that take place in them, can significantly influence the health outcomes of all communities, and reduce health inequalities. Improving access and quality of UGBS needs understanding of the range of systems (e.g. planning, transport, environment, community) in which UGBS are located. UGBS offers an ideal exemplar for testing systems innovations as it reflects place-based and whole society processes , with potential to reduce non-communicable disease (NCD) risk and associated social inequalities in health. UGBS can impact multiple behavioural and environmental aetiological pathways. However, the systems which desire, design, develop, and deliver UGBS are fragmented and siloed, with ineffective mechanisms for data generation, knowledge exchange and mobilisation. Further, UGBS need to be co-designed with and by those whose health could benefit most from them, so they are appropriate, accessible, valued and used well. This paper describes a major new prevention research programme and partnership, GroundsWell , which aims to transform UGBS-related systems by improving how we plan, design, evaluate and manage UGBS so that it benefits all communities, especially those who are in poorest health. We use a broad definition of health to include physical, mental, social wellbeing and quality of life. Our objectives are to transform systems so that UGBS are planned, developed, implemented, maintained and evaluated with our communities and data systems to enhance health and reduce inequalities. GroundsWell will use interdisciplinary, problem-solving approaches to accelerate and optimise community collaborations among citizens, users, implementers, policymakers and researchers to impact research, policy, practice and active citizenship. GroundsWell will be shaped and developed in three pioneer cities (Belfast, Edinburgh, Liverpool) and their regional contexts, with embedded translational mechanisms to ensure that outputs and impact have UK-wide and international application.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-10-2017
Publisher: National Institute for Health and Care Research
Date: 2019
DOI: 10.3310/PHR07020
Abstract: Contact with natural environments can bring health benefits, but research is lacking on how changes in access to natural environments might improve health, especially for deprived populations. To evaluate the health impacts of woodland environment interventions intended to increase communities’ engagement with these woodlands. A prospective study of Forestry Commission Scotland’s Woods In and Around Towns (WIAT) programme in deprived communities to enhance public access to natural environments. The study investigated the impact that WIAT had on community-level mental health over time. Three intervention and three control woodland sites, and associated communities within 1.5 km of the woodlands, located in central Scotland and eligible for WIAT support. A core community survey was administered at each site in three waves, at baseline and after each phase of intervention ( n = 5460, panel A). The completed survey contained a nested longitudinal cohort ( n = 609, panel B). Community members also undertook 6-monthly environmental audits at all sites ( n = 256) and participated in post-intervention focus groups ( n = 34). Phase 1 involved physical changes to the woodlands, including footpaths, entrances and vegetation. Phase 2 involved community engagement events promoting woodland use. The primary outcome was the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Other health measures included health-related quality of life (HRQoL) EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D), physical activity (PA) [International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)], connectedness to nature [Inclusion of Nature in Self (INS) scale] and social cohesion. The PSS scores significantly increased in the intervention group and marginally decreased in the control group. Multilevel regression models showed a differential impact between the intervention and the control at survey wave 3 in panel A [ B (unstandardised coefficient) 3.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.85 to 4.31 p 0.001] and in panel B [ B 3.03, 95% CI 1.54 to 4.52 p 0.001]. Using the same analytical approach, no significant change in HRQoL was associated with the intervention. Economic assessment included an illustrative cost–utility analysis and a cost–consequences analysis. The differential in stress between the intervention group and the control group was lower or non-significant in those who visited ‘nature’ in the previous year [panel A, B 1.9, 95% CI 0.8 to 3.0 p 0.001 panel B, B 0.64, 95% CI –1.60 to 2.88 p = 0.57]. The IPAQ score showed a positive association with the intervention for moderate levels of PA [panel B, B 559.3, 95% CI 211.3 to 907.2 p = 0.002] and overall PA [panel B, B 861.5, 95% CI 106.5 to 1616.4 p = 0.025]. The intervention was also associated with increased nature connectedness and social cohesion by wave 3 – significant for panel A only. Qualitative and quantitative evidence showed that interventions increased the perceived quality of the woodland environment and enhanced its enjoyment for different activities, but the increase in use of natural environments post intervention was only 6% (panel B). This study was limited to three intervention sites. External factors may be the primary influence on health outcomes. The WIAT interventions did not improve community-level health within 6 months of completion, and hence there was no basis for demonstrating cost-effectiveness. However, the WIAT interventions are low cost (average £11.80 per person in the eligible population) and have potential for cost-effectiveness, if health benefits were found in the longer term. Using routinely collected data to consider a whole-programme evaluation is recommended. The National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-2016
DOI: 10.1038/AM.2016.44
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 08-2007
DOI: 10.1068/A38226
Abstract: Although the outdoor environment provides older people with various opportunities to enhance their quality of life (QOL), few studies have investigated the extent to which this environment is influential in practice. In order to enable empirical research on this topic, in this paper we propose and examine the concept of environmental support. On the basis of a review of recent literature in gerontology, public health, environmental psychology, landscape architecture, and urban design, we argue that the supportiveness of neighbourhood environments that make outdoor activity (eg, walking) easy and enjoyable is conducive to a better QOL for older people. We introduce three ways of conceptualising environmental support focusing on the following: personally meaningful outdoor activities, environmental attributes found relevant to people's activities, and unmet needs for daily activities. Several conceptual frameworks that incorporate environmental support, QOL and other potentially salient constructs are also presented. We suggest possible future research directions employing this concept.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2008
Publisher: Routledge
Date: 11-09-2006
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 19-03-2008
Abstract: The existing literature suggests that neighborhood open space (NOS) may play an important role for older people in maintaining and enhancing their quality of life (QoL). However, little is known as to what attributes of such places are relevant to QoL in late life. This study explored what aspects of NOS are associated with health, life satisfaction, and outdoor activity (walking) for older people. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 284 people aged 65 years or older, living in Britain. The results indicate that the pleasantness and safety of open spaces were relevant to participants' life satisfaction, whereas the quality of paths to open spaces was associated with walking behavior. The distance to NOS was also correlated with life satisfaction. However, no NOS attributes were associated with participants' health status. These results are further discussed in the context of designing NOS to enhance older people's QoL.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 15-06-2019
DOI: 10.3390/SU11123317
Abstract: High prevalence of poor mental health is a major public health problem. Natural environments may contribute to mitigating stress and enhancing health. However, there is little evidence on whether community-level interventions intended to increase exposure to natural environments can improve mental health and related behaviours. In the first study of its kind, we evaluated whether the implementation of a programme designed to improve the quality of, and access to, local woodlands in deprived communities in Scotland, UK, was associated with lower perceived stress or other health-related outcomes, using a controlled, repeat cross-sectional design with a nested prospective cohort. Interventions included physical changes to the woodlands and community engagement activities within the woodlands, with data collected at baseline (2013) and post-intervention (2014 and 2015). The interventions were, unexpectedly, associated with increased perceived stress compared to control sites. However, we observed significantly greater increases in stress for those living m from intervention sites. Visits to nearby nature (woods and other green space) increased overall, and moderate physical activity levels also increased. In the intervention communities, those who visited natural environments showed smaller increases in stress than those who did not there was also some evidence of increased nature connectedness and social cohesion. The intervention costs were modest but there were no significant changes in quality of life on which to base cost-effectiveness. Findings suggest factors not captured in the study may have contributed to the perceived stress patterns found. Wider community engagement and longer post-intervention follow-up may be needed to achieve significant health benefits from woodland interventions such as those described here. The study points to the challenges in evidencing the effectiveness of green space and forestry interventions to enhance health in urban environments, but also to potential benefits from more integrated approaches across health and landscape planning and management practice.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 10-2006
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 22-08-2008
DOI: 10.1108/02632770810895705
Abstract: This study aims to examine the environmental attributes relevant to older people's preferences for neighbourhood open spaces. It also aims to explore the association between the relative importance of different environmental attributes and personal and social characteristics in a s le of older people covering a range of geographic locations in the UK. Choice‐based conjoint analysis (CBC) was used to obtain responses from a s le of 237 older people (60 years +) living in the UK. A total of 13 environmental attributes were identified from earlier qualitative and quantitative studies. Participants were asked to choose a preferred park from a pair of hypothetical neighbourhood parks differing on four of the attributes presented in a questionnaire. The questionnaire included 14 such tasks. The results suggest that older people preferred a neighbourhood park which is without nuisance, has cafes and toilets, many trees and plants, light traffic en route, wildlife to watch, and is well maintained. Analyses also reveal that whether or not people live alone, and their functional capabilities in getting around, make a difference in the way they place importance on attributes. The findings can assist those involved in designing and managing outdoor environments to identify salient environmental attributes and prioritise interventions aimed at improving access to, and use of, outdoor spaces for older adults. The approach aids understanding of what is likely to maximise preference and use of open spaces in different segments of the older population. Conjoint analysis procedures are some of the best tools available for determining importance or relative value of attributes of complex environments from the user point of view. The CBC analysis has been employed for the first time in this study to explore the relative importance of such attributes of open spaces for older adults.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 2010
DOI: 10.1068/B36024
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2007
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-01-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-06-2023
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 24-06-2019
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-03-2023
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-023-28544-W
Abstract: The effects of ‘nature’ on mental health and subjective well-being have yet to be consistently integrated into ecosystem service models and frameworks. To address this gap, we used data on subjective mental well-being from an 18-country survey to test a conceptual model integrating mental health with ecosystem services, initially proposed by Bratman et al. We analysed a range of in idual and contextual factors in the context of 14,998 recreational visits to blue spaces, outdoor environments which prominently feature water. Consistent with the conceptual model, subjective mental well-being outcomes were dependent upon on a complex interplay of environmental type and quality, visit characteristics, and in idual factors. These results have implications for public health and environmental management, as they may help identify the bluespace locations, environmental features, and key activities, that are most likely to impact well-being, but also potentially affect recreational demand on fragile aquatic ecosystems.
Publisher: Routledge
Date: 23-04-2010
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Catharine Ward Thompson.