Nature visits during the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway: Facilitators, motives, and associations with sociodemographic characteristics

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to increased mental health issues and reduced well-being. Researchers also reports increased frequency of nature visits during the pandemic, proposing it may mitigate some of these negative consequences. Using the case of Norway, a country with ample access to nature and relatively low levels of pandemic-related restrictions, this study sought to (i) understand how the COVID-19 crisis impacted patterns of nature visits and specific nature-based activities, (ii) examine how these patterns varied among dierent population groups and levels of restrictions, and (iii) explore the motives and facilitators for increased frequency of nature visits. Methods: The data were retrieved from a national cross-sectional survey conducted in June 2021, which was designed to assess participants (n = 1,005, age > 15 years) habits in relation to nature visits and outdoor recreation since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, and associated factors. Results: The results showed that 32 % of participants increased their frequency of nature visits during the crisis, while 11 % experienced a decrease. Multivariate logistic regression revealed significant positive associations between increased frequency of nature visits and longer duration of lockdown restrictions (OR [95% CI] = 2.35 [1.28–4.29] and 4.92 [2.77–8.74] for a few weeks and several months of lockdown, respectively). Increased frequency of nature visits was also more likely among women, younger respondents, and individuals from high-income households. A Cochran’s Q test showed that the most common motive for increased frequency of nature visits was “To be physically active” (74%). The most commonly reported facilitators were the possibility of using natural environments as an alternative to gyms and organized sports alongside having more time available (58 and 49%, respectively). Conclusion: These findings suggest that nature visits provided important opportunities for physical activity during the COVID-19 crisis, but also that the mental health benefits of nature visits during such times may be undercommunicated. This highlights the importance of access to natural environments to promote physical activity and health, but also suggests that campaigns that specifically communicate the beneficial eects of nature visits during lockdowns or similar stressful situations might help people cope with the situation.publishedVersio

Why Do People Exercise in Natural Environments? Norwegian Adults' Motives for Nature-, Gym-, and Sports-Based Exercise

This is the final version of the article. Available from MDPI via the DOI in this record.Exercise in natural environments ("green exercise") confers numerous health benefits, but little is known about why people engage in green exercise. This study examined the importance of nature experiences as a motive for physical activity and the motivational profile of people who engage in green exercise compared to gym- and sports-based exercise. Physical activity motives and typical times spent in different domains of physical activity were reported by 2168 Norwegian adults in a survey. Experiencing nature was generally rated as the second-most important physical activity motive, exceeded only by convenience motives, and it was especially important for older adults and those who engage in greater amounts of instrumental physical activity. Green exercisers reported stronger motives concerning convenience and experiencing nature, whereas gym- or sports-based exercisers reported stronger motives for physical health and sociability. The motives associated with different leisure-time exercise domains may assist in understanding optimal promotion of green exercise.Giovanna Calogiuri’s participation in this research was entirely funded by Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, and Calogiuri did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Lewis R. Elliott declares that his participation in this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors

Camera Stabilization in 360° Videos and Its Impact on Cyber Sickness, Environmental Perceptions, and Psychophysiological Responses to a Simulated Nature Walk: A Single-Blinded Randomized Trial

Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) technology has emerged as a valuable tool to environmental psychology research in general, and specifically to studies of human–nature interactions. However, virtual reality is known to induce cyber sickness, which limits its application and highlights the need for scientific strategies to optimize virtual experiences. In this study, we assessed the impact of improved camera stability on cyber sickness, presence, and psychophysiological responses to a simulated nature walk. In a single-blinded trial, 50 participants were assigned to watch, using a head-mounted display, one of two 10-min 360° videos showing a first-person nature walk: one video contained small-magnitude scene oscillations associated with cameraman locomotion, while in the other video, the oscillations were drastically reduced thanks to an electric stabilizer and a dolly. Measurements of cyber sickness (in terms of both occurrence and severity of symptoms), perceptions of the IVE (presence and perceived environmental restorativeness), and indicators of psychophysiological responses [affect, enjoyment, and heart rate (HR)] were collected before and/or after the exposure. Compared to the low-stability (LS) condition, in the high-stability (HS) condition, participants reported lower severity of cyber sickness symptoms. The delta values for pre–post changes in affect for the LS video revealed a deterioration of participants’ affect profile with a significant increase in ratings of negative affect and fatigue, and decrease in ratings of positive affect. In contrast, there were no pre–post changes in affect for the HS video. No differences were found between the HS and LS conditions with respect to presence, perceived environmental restorativeness, enjoyment, and HR. Cyber sickness was significantly correlated with all components of affect and enjoyment, but not with presence, perceived environmental restorativeness, or HR. These findings demonstrate that improved camera stability in 360° videos is crucial to reduce cyber sickness symptoms and negative affective responses in IVE users. The lack of associations between improved stability and presence, perceived environmental restorativeness, and HR suggests that other aspects of IVE technology must be taken into account in order to improve virtual experiences of nature.publishedVersio

Physical Activity Levels and Perceived Changes in the Context of Intra-EEA Migration: A Study on Italian Immigrants in Norway

As mobility within the European Economic Area (EEA) is on the rise, it is important to understand migrants' health-related behaviors (such as physical activity [PA]) within this context. This study investigated i) the extent to which Italian immigrants in Norway perceive that moving had a negative or positive impact on their PA; ii) possible differences between the PA of the Italian immigrants compared with the Norwegian population; and iii) possible associations of the Italian immigrants' PA with key sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, region of residence, and educational level). The data were retrieved from the Mens Sana in Corpore Sano study. In order to enhance the sample's representativeness, the original dataset (n = 321) was oversampled in accordance with the proportion of key sociodemographic characteristics of the reference population using the ADASYN method (resampled n = 531). The results indicate that a large majority of Italian immigrants perceived that they were as or even more physically active in Norway than they would have been if they continued living in Italy, while 20% of the Italians perceived instead a negative impact. No significant differences were found in the PA levels of the Italians in comparison with the Norwegian population, though some differences were found in relation to specific modes of PA. After controlling for multiple sociodemographic characteristics, men, those with lower educational levels and, to a certain extent, older adults tended to perceive a more negative impact and be less physically active than their respective counterparts. Compared with those living in the most urbanized regions, a larger proportion of those living in less urbanized regions perceived a negative impact, though no differences were observed in terms of PA levels. The findings are discussed in light of acculturation, gender, and social gradient. The knowledge generated by this study sheds light on an important health-related behavior among Italians in Norway, which can inform initiatives that aim at promoting PA in this specific group as well as other similar contexts of intra-EEA migration.publishedVersio

Advancing immersive virtual reality-based simulation practices: developing an evidence-based and theory-driven pedagogical framework for VR-based simulations of non-technical skills among healthcare professionals

ABSTRACT Virtual reality (VR) based simulation is emerging as an innovative tool for the training and education of healthcare professionals. However, pedagogical frameworks specific to this type of simulation are yet missing. This paper explores participants’ experiences with VR-based simulation training in non-technical skills (VR-SIMI) and integrates them with established pedagogical theory. Non-technical skills refer to cognitive, social, and personal resource skills such as effective communication, relational competence, and stress management. An observational study was conducted involving 11 health care professionals in children and adolescents’ mental health who attended four VR-SIMI sessions over one year. Data were collected through field notes during participant observation and informal conversations with the participants. Directed content analysis was conducted, informed by the established practice of VR-SIMI (including INACL standards of best practice simulation), Jeffries simulation theory, Kolb’s experiential learning theory, and adult learning theory. The findings indicate that the participants positively evaluated the use of VR-SIMI. However, they also reported that the implementation and learning outcomes should be further refined. Based on these findings, an evidence-based and theory-driven pedagogical framework is proposed to guide andenhance the quality of VR-based simulations of non-technical skills for various of healthcare professionals, as well as inform future research. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.Advancing immersive virtual reality-based simulation practices: developing an evidence-based and theory-driven pedagogical framework for VR-based simulations of non-technical skills among healthcare professionalspublishedVersio

Evaluation of performance at university with the Rasch Analysis

In 2007/2008 the University of Salento has started a degree course in Psychology. Right from the start, the people in charge of the course have been focusing on preventing early dropouts by stimulating a better professional awareness and by ensuring the best possible course experience. To do so, the students were asked increasing performance standards to prevent the choice of university studies as mere alternative to work. This study refers specifically of controlling the training process through the analysis of perfor- mance of students (monitoring career). Normally a review of developments in the curriculum in relation to explanatory variables is performed using sta- tistical inferential model where the dependent variable is the grade obtained in the different disciplines or even the credits acquired by the student. The particular structure of the activity since its inception allows to introduce the evaluation of the curriculum using effectively Rasch Analysis. The model involves the insertion of the exams outcomes analysed in terms of success / failure examination for each of the constituent disciplines of studies. This model establishes a more reliable criteria for the verification of differential variables useful for monitoring the training process (for example: final grade to high school diploma, sex, age, university registration renewal , etc.) and the subsequent management of the training process

Proposing a Framework for the Restorative Effects of Nature through Conditioning: Conditioned Restoration Theory

Natural environments have been shown to trigger psychological and physiological restoration in humans. A new framework regarding natural environments restorative properties is proposed. Conditioned restoration theory builds on a classical conditioning paradigm, postulating the occurrence of four stages: (i) unconditioned restoration, unconditioned positive affective responses reliably occur in a given environment (such as in a natural setting); (ii) restorative conditioning, the positive affective responses become conditioned to the environment; (iii) conditioned restoration, subsequent exposure to the environment, in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus, retrieves the same positive affective responses; and (iv) stimulus generalization, subsequent exposure to associated environmental cues retrieves the same positive affective responses. The process, hypothetically not unique to natural environments, involve the well-documented phenomenon of conditioning, retrieval, and association and relies on evaluative conditioning, classical conditioning, core affect, and conscious expectancy. Empirical findings showing that restoration can occur in non-natural environments and through various sensory stimuli, as well as findings demonstrating that previous negative experience with nature can subsequently lower restorative effects, are also presented in support of the theory. In integration with other existing theories, the theory should prove to be a valuable framework for future research.publishedVersio

A cross-sectional and 6-year follow-up study of associations between leisure time physical activity and vertebral fracture in adults

Introduction: Vertebral fractures are common osteoporotic fractures, affecting 2–46% of the population, causing morbidity and increased risk of mortality. Physical activity has beneficial effects for bone health, including increased bone mineral density and reduced hip fractures. However, evidence concerning prevention of vertebral fractures is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between leisure time physical activity and vertebral fracture risk. Methods: The data were retrieved from the 2001 and 2007–2008 surveys of the Tromsø Study, a longitudinal population study in Norway. A total of 1904 participants (1030 women and 874 men, age 38–87 yr and 40–87 yr respectively) were included in the cross-sectional analysis (2007–2008). Prospective follow-up data (2001 to 2007) on physical activity were available for 1131 participants (636 women and 495 men, age 32–69 yr and 33–69 yr respectively). Physical activity was assessed by a questionnaire and vertebral fracture by lateral vertebral fracture assessment from dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scans. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between physical activity and vertebral fracture. Results: After controlling for confounders (age, height, weight, smoking, osteoporosis, osteoporosis medication, left hip total bone mineral density, and use of hormones in women only), no cross-sectional associations between physical activity levels and vertebral fracture were observed, OR 1.13 (95% CI: 0.59–2.13), for moderately active women and 1.44 (0.61–3.42) for highly active women, compared with sedentary women. In men, the respective ORs were 1.74 (95% CI: 0.91–3.35) and 1.64 (0.78–3.41). In the prospective analyses, OR for vertebral fracture in women with reduced physical activity was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.18–3.62), 1.24 (95% CI: 0.29–5.26) for increased physical activity and 1.54 (95% CI: 0.43–5.50) for active unchanged physical activity pattern, compared with sedentary unchanged physical activity. In men, the respective ORs were 2.05 (95% CI: 0.57–7.42), 2.23 (95% CI: 0.63–7.87), and 1.81 (95% CI: 0.54–6.02). Subanalyses of women and men ≥50 yr showed similar results. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that physical activity does not play a major role in preventing vertebral fractures in Norwegian adults. Future studies may benefit from data on incident vertebral fracture, and objectively measured physical activity. Keywords: Epidemiology, Osteoporosis, ExercisepublishedVersionsubmittedVersio

Natural Environments and Childhood Experiences Promoting Physical Activity, Examining the Mediational Effects of Feelings about Nature and Social Networks

This is an Open Access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 (CC BY 3.0) and originally published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. You can access the article by following this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13040439Dette er en vitenskapelig, fagfellevurdert artikkel som opprinnelig ble publisert i International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Artikkelen er publisert under lisensen Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 (CC BY 3.0). Du kan også få tilgang til artikkelen ved å følge denne lenken: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13040439The importance of natural environments (NEs) for physical activity (PA) has been studied extensively. However, there is scant evidence to explain the motivational processes underlying the NE-PA relation. The aim of this study was to investigate the NE-PA relation using an ecological framework, focusing on perception of NEs, childhood experiences and possible intra- and inter-individual mediators. Data were retrieved from a cross-sectional survey among 2168 adults from all over Norway. In addition, the coverage of NEs by municipalities was retrieved from national registers. Logistic regression showed that, unlike the self-reported proximity to NEs, higher ratings of perceived supportiveness of NEs for PA predicted participation in NE-based PA for at least 60 min/week or 150 min/week, before and after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics. Reporting frequent experiences in nature during childhood was also an important predictor of higher levels of NE-based PA. Furthermore, a mediational analysis showed that the effect of both predictors was mediated by “feelings about nature” and “social networks”. These findings indicate that to encourage the use of local NE for PA, not only should environmental perceptions be taken into account, positive feelings towards nature alongside opportunities to share activity in nature with others should also be promoted