Chalmin-Pui, Lauriane Suyin

Rajcani, Jakub

Smyth, N.

Wood, C.

English

WestminsterResearch

TYPE EditorialPUBLISHED 12 December 2022DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1095064OPEN ACCESSEDITED AND REVIEWED BYChangiz Mohiyeddini,Oakland University William BeaumontSchool of Medicine, United States*CORRESPONDENCECarly Woodcjwood@essex.ac.ukSPECIALTY SECTIONThis article was submitted toHealth Psychology,a section of the journalFrontiers in PsychologyRECEIVED 10 November 2022ACCEPTED 28 November 2022PUBLISHED 12 December 2022CITATIONWood C, Chalmin-Pui LS, Smyth N andRajcani J (2022) Editorial:Nature-based social prescriptions forimproving health and wellbeing.Front. Psychol. 13:1095064.doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1095064COPYRIGHT© 2022 Wood, Chalmin-Pui, Smythand Rajcani. This is an open-accessarticle distributed under the terms ofthe Creative Commons AttributionLicense (CC BY). The use, distributionor reproduction in other forums ispermitted, provided the originalauthor(s) and the copyright owner(s)are credited and that the originalpublication in this journal is cited, inaccordance with accepted academicpractice. No use, distribution orreproduction is permitted which doesnot comply with these terms.Editorial: Nature-based socialprescriptions for improvinghealth and wellbeingCarly Wood1*, Lauriane Suyin Chalmin-Pui2,3, Nina Smyth4 andJakub Rajcani51School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester,United Kingdom, 2Science Team, Royal Horticultural Society, Wisley, United Kingdom, 3Departmentof Landscape Architecture, The University of Sheeld, Sheeld, United Kingdom, 4Department ofPsychology, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, 5Department of Psychology,Comenius University, Bratislava, SlovakiaKEYWORDSgreen social prescribing, health, wellbeing, nature-based activities, ill-healthEditorial on the Research TopicNature-based social prescriptions for improving health and wellbeingIntroductionSocial Prescribing offers a means by which third sector organizations canprovide non-medical sources of support within local communities to address mental,psychosocial, and socio-economic needs through provision of a range of “social”activities (Chatterjee et al., 2018). Nature-based or green social prescriptions are one typeof social prescription which aim to improve health and wellbeing through exposure to,and direct interaction with natural environments (Robinson and Breed, 2019), includingactivities such as gardening, nature walks and conservation activities. In July 2020 the UKGovernment invested 5.77 million in green social prescribing as a means of preventingand tackling poor mental health (NHS England, n.d.).Whilst there has been significant investment in green social prescribing, evidenceof the health and wellbeing benefits across the broad range of potential service usersis limited. There is also a lack of evidence of the physiological health outcomes andthe feasibility and acceptability of green social prescriptions are not fully understood.This Research Topic aimed to bring together articles focused on the feasibility ofprescribing nature-based activities for the treatment of ill-health and to explore the rangeof health and wellbeing benefits that can be derived from participation in different greensocial prescriptions.Feasibility of prescribing nature-based socialprescriptionsIn line with the increased interest and demand for green social prescribing, Marxand More outlined the development of a formal referral pathway for nature-basedFrontiers in Psychology 01 frontiersin.orgWood et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1095064interventions (the Green Health Prescription pathway)and explored the feasibility of the pathway through focusgroups with healthcare professionals, service users, andnature-based intervention delivery partners. The focusgroups highlighted that the barriers preventing referral tonature-based interventions included the sustainability of thepathway, funding, lack of awareness of existing nature-basedinterventions among practitioners, and the need to connectpatients with appropriate interventions for their physical andmental health. These findings are in line with research by Woodet al. (2022) who highlighted a need for increased awareness ofservice provision amongst referring professionals. The strengthsof the pathway included the easy-to-access “one-stop shop” forinformation, the convenience of a telephone hotline and linksto other existing prescription pathways, as well the potential forpeer support and empowerment.The coronavirus pandemic adversely impacted the healthof the population (Jaspal and Breakwell, 2020; Smith et al.,2020; Kwong et al., 2021; Wood et al., 2022) and resultedin disruptions to mental health services across the globe (DiGessa et al., 2022). Fixsen and Barrett examined the challengesand opportunities of delivering green social prescribing duringand in the aftermath of COVID-19 through interviews withsocial prescribers, general practitioners, managers, researchersand volunteers in Scotland and Northeast England. Thefindings revealed a diverse social prescribing landscape,with variation in schemes, funding, structure, and delivery.Whilst stakeholders agreed that there were numerous benefitsto nature-based interventions; psychological and practicalbarriers, including health anxieties, mobility issues, andtransport deficits were identified as barriers. It was alsofelt that work was needed to ensure older and multi-morbidity clients could fully engage with activities. Thesefindings are also in line with those by Wood et al. (2022)who highlighted barriers to engagement with nature-basedinterventions such as transportation, mobility and health issuesneed to be considered to ensure more widespread accessand use.An increasing number of university students are alsoexperiencing increasing poor mental health (Campbellet al., 2022). Boyd investigated the feasibility of usingnature-based interventions with undergraduate students.Students took part in one of three interventions consistingof either a mobile app that directed users’ attention towardnature, 2 weekly walks in nature, or a combination ofthe two. In focus groups, participants reflected on theirexperiences of the interventions and their attitudes towardnature on the university campus. The results revealed theneed for a whole university approach, which considersthe interventions and campus design simultaneously. Thefindings also highlighted the importance of green spaces forsocial purposes, as a shelter from the city environment, orfor contact with wildlife. These findings support the use ofwellbeing interventions together with green space developmentin universities.Health and wellbeing benefits ofnature-based social prescriptionsNatural environments can act as a setting for a broadrange of activities. Moula et al. undertook a systematicreview of the impact of arts-based interventions deliveredto children and young people in nature or outdoors spaceson nature connectedness, health, and wellbeing. Elevenstudies were included in the review, with some focusingon creating art with materials found in nature and othersusing outdoor music making or forest school approaches.All studies revealed a positive impact of interventions onconnectedness to nature and reported benefits for children’smental health and wellbeing, for example reduced stress andanger, increased energy, joy and emotional regulation. Fourstudies also reported increased engagement with learningprocesses, with outdoor environments supporting improvedlistening skills. Children with additional learning or behavioralneeds, or with lower self-esteem also experienced additionalimprovements. However, the review also highlighted thatquantitative research in the field was still in its infancy,supporting the need for larger experimental studies andupscaling of interventions.Addressing the lack of physiological evidence of thebenefits of nature-based interventions, Benz et al. investigatedthe impact of nature-based relaxation videos on heart rateand heart rate variability (HRV) using two sub-studies.In study 1, a 10-min nature-based relaxation video ledto significant reductions in heart rate and increases inHRV in participants, indicating improved physiological healthoutcomes. In study 2, these improvements remained butwere not significantly greater than improvements resultingfrom watching a meditation video or short clip froma popular movie. These findings highlight the need forfurther research into the physiological benefits of nature-based interventions and how these align with psychologicalhealth outcomes.ConclusionsThis Research Topic provides further evidenceof the feasibility and health benefits of nature-basedinterventions or green social prescribing activities. Thestudies included have demonstrated the need to overcomekey barriers to prescription and engagement with nature-based interventions such as access and lack of awareness.There is also a need for larger experimental studies andFrontiers in Psychology 02 frontiersin.orgWood et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1095064upscaling of interventions to provide further evidence ofhealth outcomes.Author contributionsCW and JR drafted the initial version of theeditorial, which was then edited, revised, and agreedby all authors. All authors contributed to the editorialthrough acting as editors on articles submittedto the special edition and provided summariesof findings.AcknowledgmentsWe thank all the authors who have contributed to thisResearch Topic with their highly valuable research. We alsothank the reviewers and the editorial team of Frontiersin Psychology—Health Psychology section for their supportthroughout the production of this Research Topic.Conflict of interestThe authors declare that the research was conducted in theabsence of any commercial or financial relationships that couldbe construed as a potential conflict of interest.Publisher’s noteAll claims expressed in this article are solely those of theauthors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliatedorganizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and thereviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, orclaim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteedor endorsed by the publisher.ReferencesCampbell, F., Blank, L., Cantrell, A., Baxter, S., Blackmore, C., Dixon, J.,et al. (2022). Factors that influence mental health of university and collegestudents in the UK: a systematic review. BMC Public Health 22, 1778.doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13943-xChatterjee, H. J., Camic, P. M., Lockyer, B., and Thomson, L. J. M. (2018).Non-clinical community interventions: a systematised review of social prescribingschemes. Arts Health 10, 97–123. doi: 10.1080/17533015.2017.1334002Di Gessa, G., Maddock, J., Green, M. J., Thompson, E. J., McElroy, E., Davies,H. L., et al. (2022). Pre-pandemic mental health and disruptions to healthcare,economic and housing outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from12 UK longitudinal studies. Br. J. Psychiat. 220, 21–30. doi: 10.1192/bjp.2021.132Jaspal, R., and Breakwell, G. M. (2020). Socio-economic inequalities in socialnetwork, loneliness and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Int. J. Soc.Psychiat. 68, 155–165. doi: 10.1177/0020764020976694Kwong, A. S., Pearson, R. M., Adams, M. J., Northstone, K., Tilling, K., Smith,D., et al. (2021). Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemicin two longitudinal UK population cohorts. Br. J. Psychiat. 218, 334–343.doi: 10.1192/bjp.2020.242NHS England. Green Social Prescribing n.d. Available online at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/social-prescribing/green-social-prescribing/(accessed February 12, 2022).Robinson, J. M., and Breed, M. F. (2019). Green prescriptions and their co-benefits: integrative strategies for public and environmental health. Challenges 10,9. doi: 10.3390/challe10010009Smith, L., Jacob, L., Yakkundi, A., McDermott, D., Armstrong, N. C., Barnett,Y., et al. (2020). Correlates of symptoms of anxiety and depression and mentalwellbeing associated with COVID-19: a cross-sectional study of UK-basedrespondents. Psychiat. Res. 291, 113138. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113138Wood, C. J., Polley, M., Barton, J. L., and Wicks, C. L. (2022). TherapeuticCommunity Gardening as a Green Social Prescription for Mental Ill-Health:Impact, Barriers, and Facilitators from the Perspective of Multiple Stakeholders.Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 9, 13612. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192013612Frontiers in Psychology 03 frontiersin.org

Editorial: Nature-based social prescriptions for improving health and wellbeing

https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/download/54c2c607e7189ef49e19f3713206c221a9bb719bee9d4f57b2e93dce5f3f6370/102030/fpsyg-13-1095064.pdf

Editorial: Nature-based social prescriptions for improving health and wellbeing

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

WestminsterResearch