People and green spaces: promoting public health and mental well‐being through ecotherapy

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 24-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ambra Burls
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Mental Well Being

scholarly journals Sleep and Mental Health Among Older Adults in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Rodrigues ◽  
K Nicholson ◽  
P Wilk ◽  
G Guaiana ◽  
S Stranges ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Sleep Duration ◽  
Sleep Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Background Global studies have demonstrated consistent associations between sleep problems and mental health and well-being in older adults, however Canadian data are lacking. We investigated associations between sleep quantity and quality with both mental illness symptoms and well-being among older adults in Canada. Methods We used cross-sectional baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, a national survey of 30,097 community-dwelling adults aged 45 years and older. Self-reported sleep measures included average past-week sleep duration (short [<6h], normal [6-8h], long [>8h]), and sleep quality (satisfied or dissatisfied vs neutral). Mental illness outcomes included depressive symptoms and psychological distress. Mental well-being outcomes included self-rated mental health and satisfaction with life. We used modified Poisson regression models with adjustment for sociodemographic, behavioural, and clinical factors, and stratification by sex and age to explore effect modification. Results In the unadjusted analysis, short and long sleep duration and sleep dissatisfaction were associated with higher mental illness symptoms and lower well-being across all outcomes. Sleep satisfaction was associated with a lower likelihood of mental illness symptoms and better well-being. Short sleep duration was associated with the largest effects on mental health outcomes. Self-rated mental health and depressive symptoms had the largest associations with sleep measures. Effects were larger in males and the 45 to 54 year age group. Conclusions Preliminary evidence suggests sleep duration and quality are associated with symptoms of depression, psychological distress, and poor mental well-being among older adults. We are unable to determine whether sleep problems are a cause or consequence of poor mental health. Nonetheless, sleep may be an important target for public health initiatives to improve mental health and well-being among older adults. Key messages Our findings contribute further evidence that sleep difficulties are associated with adverse health outcomes including higher mental illness symptoms and lower well-being among older adults. Sleep disturbances are an unmet public health problem, and may be an important target for public health initiatives to improve mental health and well-being among older adults.

scholarly journals Silver Linings Reported by Australians Experiencing Public Health Restrictions during the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Report

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (21) ◽  
pp. 11406
Author(s):  
Narelle Campbell ◽  
Sandra C. Thompson ◽  
Anna Tynan ◽  
Louise Townsin ◽  
Lauren A. Booker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Rapid Identification ◽  
National Study ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Mental Well Being

This national study investigated the positives reported by residents experiencing the large-scale public health measures instituted in Australia to manage the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Most Australians had not previously experienced the traditional public health measures used (social distancing, hand hygiene and restriction of movement) and which could potentially impact negatively on mental well-being. The research design included qualitative semi-structured phone interviews where participants described their early pandemic experiences. Data analysis used a rapid identification of themes technique, well-suited to large-scale qualitative research. The ninety participants (mean age 48 years; 70 women) were distributed nationally. Analysis revealed five themes linked with mental well-being and the concept of silver linings: safety and security, gratitude and appreciation, social cohesion and connections, and opportunities to reset priorities and resilience. Participants demonstrated support for the public health measures and evidence of individual and community resilience. They were cognisant of positives despite personal curtailment and negative impacts of public health directives. Stories of hope, strength, and acceptance, innovative connections with others and focusing on priorities and opportunities within the hardship were important strategies that others could use in managing adversity.

scholarly journals The Effects of Stigma on Determinants of Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Male College Students: An Application of the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1286-1296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita DiGioacchino DeBate ◽  
Amy Gatto ◽  
Gregor Rafal
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Well Being ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Behavioral Skills ◽  
Help Seeking Behaviors ◽  
Male College ◽  
Mental Well Being

Considered a public health issue, the prevalence and severity of poor mental well-being on college campuses has continued to rise. While many college campuses offer mental health counseling services, and utilization rates are increasing, their proportional usage is low especially among males, who often deal with poor mental well-being by adopting unhealthy coping strategies. The purpose of this study was to use the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model to assess the relationship between the determinants as factors that may impact help-seeking behaviors in a large sample ( n = 1,242) of male college students. Employing a cross-sectional study design, a 71-item online survey assessed information via total mental health literacy (MHL), motivation via attitudes toward mental health and subjective norms regarding mental health, and behavioral skills via intentions regarding help-seeking behaviors, and stigma. Results revealed correlations between information and motivation ( r = .363, p < .01), information and behavioral skills ( r = .166, p < .01), and motivation and behavioral skills ( r = .399, p < .01). Multiple regression was used to determine stigma is a mediator for all relationships. These findings represent an opportunity to take a public health approach to male mental health through developing multilayered interventions that address information, motivation, behavioral skills, and stigma.

scholarly journals Supporting Children’s Well-being with Art in Nature: Artist Pedagogue Perceptions

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-112
Author(s):  
Nicola Walshe ◽  
Elsa Lee ◽  
Millie J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Mental Well Being

There is increasing concern about children’s mental well-being and an urgent need for research into how to support positive mental health; including as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Alongside this is the heightened awareness about diminished access to green spaces and diminished exposure to the arts for children. Our research aims to show the potential for addressing these three issues in tandem through a qualitative case study exploring the work of one charity, Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination (CCI). The charity undertakes arts-based projects in nature with children. In particular, this article considers the implications of CCI artist pedagogues’ perceptions of their nature-based practice for children’s well-being. The research comprised a ‘talk and draw’ focus group followed by individual interviews with CCI artists. Findings show artist pedagogues’ work has the potential to support aspects of children’s well-being through promotion of agency, developing confidence and providing inspiration to support creativity.

Resilience and well-being

2018 ◽  
pp. 503-512
Author(s):  
Sarah Stewart-Brown
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Self ◽  
Relational Support ◽  
Infancy And Childhood ◽  
The Face ◽  
Resilient Response ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Mental Well Being

Resilience and well-being are relatively new to public health and psychiatry, and the research that underpins the concepts is often found in the publications of other disciplines—psychology, neuroscience, physiology, and philosophy. This chapter argues, using ideas from a range of disciplines, that resilience and well-being are integrally linked in that resilience is a product, a marker, and a developer of mental well-being. A level of well-being commensurate with a particular challenge enables a resilient response, and by enabling development in the face of the challenge, resilience enhances well-being. Both resilience and well-being are developmental and the key to successful development is a sensitive, attuned, and trusting relationship, which conditions the self-regulation response. Approaches to enhancing resilience and well-being are therefore very similar. They start with relational support in infancy and childhood, and carry on throughout the life course, with activities and programmes that support the development of self–regulation.

Oxford Textbook of Nature and Public Health

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
Multiple Health ◽  
Health And Well Being

Much literature on environmental health has described threats from the environment. The Oxford Textbook of Nature and Public Health: The Role of Nature in Improving the Health of a Population focuses on the role of nature for our health and well-being by demonstrating how we can gain multiple health benefits from nature, and how much we risk losing by destroying our surrounding natural environment. Providing a broad and inclusive picture of the multifaceted relation between human health and natural environments, the books covers all aspects of this relationship ranging from disease prevention; through physical activity in green spaces, to ecosystem services like climate change adaptation by urban trees preventing heat stress in hot climates. Nature’s potential hazardous consequences are also discussed including natural disasters, vector-borne pathogens, and allergies.

The scope and concerns of public health

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-22
Author(s):  
Roger Detels ◽  
Chorh Chuan Tan
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
First Century ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Entire Field ◽  
Mental Well Being

Public health is the art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organized efforts of society. The goal of public health is the biological, physical, and mental well-being of all members of society. Thus, public health must address the challenge of confronting health problems, as well as political, social, and economic factors affecting health, not only at the community, state, and national levels, but also at the global level. This chapter introduces the reader to the scope and current major concerns of public health in the twenty-first century, giving examples of each. It is the goal of this chapter to assist the reader in understanding the conceptual framework of the field, which will help them in placing the subsequent more detailed chapters into the context of the entire field of public health.

scholarly journals Impacts of the Covid-19 lockdown and relevant vulnerabilities on capability well-being, mental health and social support: an Austrian survey study

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Judit Simon ◽  
Timea M. Helter ◽  
Ross G. White ◽  
Catharina van der Boor ◽  
Agata Łaszewska
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Health Treatment ◽  
History Of ◽  
Mental Well Being

Abstract Background Impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and its public health measures go beyond physical and mental health and incorporate wider well-being impacts in terms of what people are free to do or be. We explored the impacts of the Covid-19 lockdown and relevant vulnerabilities on capability well-being, mental health and social support in Austria. Methods Adult Austrian residents (n = 560) provided responses to a cross-sectional online survey about their experiences during Covid-19 lockdown (15 March-15 April 2020). Instruments measuring capabilities (OxCAP-MH), depression and anxiety (HADS), social support (MSPSS) and mental well-being (WHO-5) were used in association with six pre-defined vulnerabilities using multivariable linear regression. Results 31% of the participants reported low mental well-being and only 30% of those with a history of mental health treatment received treatment during lockdown. Past mental health treatment had a significant negative effect across all outcome measures with an associated capability well-being score reduction of − 6.54 (95%CI, − 9.26, − 3.82). Direct Covid-19 experience and being ‘at risk’ due to age and/or physical health conditions were also associated with significant capability deprivations. When adjusted for vulnerabilities, significant capability reductions were observed in association with increased levels of depression (− 1.77) and anxiety (− 1.50), and significantly higher capability levels (+ 3.75) were associated with higher levels of social support. Compared to the cohort average, individual capability impacts varied between − 9% for those reporting past mental health treatment and + 5% for those reporting one score higher on the social support scale. Conclusions Our study is the first to assess the capability limiting aspects of lockdown and relevant vulnerabilities alongside their impacts on mental health and social support. The negative capability well-being, mental health and social support impacts of the Covid-19 lockdown were strongest for people with a history of mental health treatment. Future public health policies concerning lockdowns should pay special attention to improve social support levels in order to increase public resilience.

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