Title: Self-Reported Episodes of Mental Health in Relation to Urban Green Spaces: A Literature Review
Authors: Katelyn Banks, MAMS; Scott Brown, MAMS; Carly Trogstad, MAMS
Introduction
The prevalence of mental illness is on the rise. One in five adults currently suffers from mental illness, with the young adult (18-25) population having the highest need for mental health resources (SAMHSA 2019). A growing body of scientific literature worldwide demonstrates that green and blue spaces have been correlated with positive impacts on an individual’s mental health. This review will provide a comprehensive examination of the current literature regarding the intersection between the mental health of young adults and greenspaces.
Materials and Methods
The World Health Organization defines greenspace as land that is partially or completely covered with grass, trees, shrubs and is designated as a public outdoor space. This included established parks, community gardens, and recreational areas. PubMed, EBSCOHOST, and Google Scholar were utilized to locate articles. Key terms used in each search were greenspace and young adults. A combination of the following words accompanied greenspace and young adults in searches; mental illness, mental health, anxiety, and depression. Twenty-nine studies met inclusion criteria. Articles were excluded based on their definition of greenspace, age-range, or type of greenspace utilized. Articles were categorized for these studies based on type of study, on outcome measures, and on major themes identified.
Results
Twenty-eight of the twenty-nine articles demonstrated that green spaces are correlated with improved mental health outcomes. Twenty-one articles were conducted throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia, while eight were conducted in North America- four of which in the United States. 77% of studies used standardized assessments such as; visual analog scale (VAS), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), or perceived stress scales. Green spaces were calculated via ArcGIS and NDVI measurements. Major themes that appeared across the studies were perceptions on green spaces, proximity to green spaces, accessibility and utility of green spaces, and size of green spaces/neighborhood greenness.
Discussion
Overall, the various studies suggested that green and blue spaces have positive impacts on mental health and overall well-being in countries across the world. This is a timely study due to the United States’ involvement in recent climate agreements, infrastructure bills, and the increasing knowledge of the intersection between environmental sciences and public health. To our knowledge and research, this is the first systematic review correlating this age group with the benefits that green spaces may have. There is a need for further study in the United States to better understand the significance green and blue spaces play in America’s mental health.
Thanks for this presentation, I am one of your judges. I’m curious if your team found any specific patterns in terms of the types of disorders that were associated with the beneficial impact of green spaces.
Thank you for your comments Dr. Mapes. Our team mainly looked at self-reported episodes of anxiety and depression, which showed the most prominent association with Green Spaces. Other mental illnesses that appeared in literature included Schizophrenia, substance abuse and addiction, Bipolar Disorder and PTSD. Due to the limited literature regarding each of these mental illnesses and their association with green spaces, our team did not want to make generalized claims for them. However, these respective studies did show that green spaces could potentially help reduce symptomatology and lead to improved mental health outcomes. In regard to specific patterns observed in the types of disorders, our research identified depression and anxiety as our main criteria for literature. Depression and anxiety were self-reported as umbrella terms, and could’ve included additional diagnoses that were unidentified. We acknowledge that this is a limitation as our research was not powered to look at other mental illnesses with the same scrutiny.
Judge: Thank you for sharing your presentation. I’m curious if your research included only natural green spaces? Any findings relevant to the use of artificial green spaces and impact on mental illness?
Hello, thank you for your questions. Our research included two studies that looked at the effects of images of green spaces and viewing green space from inside a residence. Brace et al., 2020, found that there was a positive correlation between better mental health outcomes and viewing a green space from inside a residence. People who viewed green spaces from inside reported lower levels of anxiety and depression. Brooks et al., 2017, found that pictures of nature had a positive effect on mental health, but real exposure to green spaces was superior to the images. There was a lack of literature for comparing artificially created green spaces (turf, artificial plants) to natural green spaces. There was, however, an article that discussed artificially made blue spaces (water parks, fountains) that showed a positive correlation between exposure and mental health outcomes. Further research should focus on the difference observed between artificial and natural green space and the effects of artificially made green space on mental health.
Thank you for your presentation. I am one of the judges evaluating your poster. As proximity to and usability of green spaces seem to be important themes throughout the literature, is there any discussion of how these access barriers can be overcome?
Hi Dr. Smith. Thanks for your question! In our search criteria, we analyzed articles with green spaces that did not have a fee-for-use. This excluded national parks, national forests, and bureau of land management, and private lands. We included this criterion to address and control for accessibility. We acknowledge that fees are not the only barriers to accessibility but are a contributing factor. Many green spaces that require a permit we found to be inaccessible and therefore not widely used for mental health benefit. We felt excluding these green spaces would emphasize the more accessible green space options available. In our discussion, we highlighted how urban planning will be a key contributor to overcoming and addressing these access barriers to green spaces. It will be important for urban planners to know why green spaces are vital and important to health and wellbeing. Further research specific to the United States is greatly needed to guide future urban planning.