Researching natural and physical environments for wellbeing Ben Wheeler Research Fellow.
-
Upload
pearl-davis -
Category
Documents
-
view
214 -
download
1
Transcript of Researching natural and physical environments for wellbeing Ben Wheeler Research Fellow.
Researching natural and physical environments for wellbeing
Ben WheelerResearch Fellow
Research Areas
ECEHH research considers both the positive consequences and threats posed by interacting with our environment, both anthropogenic and natural
Interdisciplinary – psychology, epidemiology, geography, sociology, policy, economics, ecology, microbiology…
Health and Wellbeing from Natural Environments
Not a new concept
• Gardens of Egyptian nobility
• Walled gardens of Mesopotamia
• Solvitur Ambulando (“it is solved by walking”)
Images: British Museum and www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanging_Gardens_of_Babylon
Tradition continued into modern times
• Urban parks in the 19th Century developed for the health and happiness of urbanites. (Public Health Act 1875)
• Federick Law Olmstead in the 19th C said the benefits of nature ‘operate by unconscious processes to relax and relieve tensions created by the artificial surroundings of urban life’
• Nature… ‘by the variety of its landscapes wins melancholics from their single obsession by taking them away from the cause and the memory of their sufferings’ (Foucault, quoted in Curtin 2009)
Crossley Sanatorium: Image from www.mscch.org/index.php
Evidence
Salutogenic Nature
• Evidence has been accumulating – especially on ‘greenspace’ (generically)
• But still lots of it is at early stages, low quality or designs lacking inferential power
Image: Forestry Commission
Evidence
Ulrich, 1984. Science.
Evidence
Fortescue-Fox & Lloyd, 1938. Lancet.
Evidence
Korpela et al, 2010, Health Promot Int, 25(2), 200-209.
Evidence
Mitchell, 2012. Social Science & Medicine
Nature, health and wellbeing
Proposed mechanisms
• opportunities for physical activity• stress reduction/attention restoration• increased sense of place/place identity,
neighbourhood satisfaction• social interaction
NB: Louv’s ‘Nature Deficit Disorder’ (?)
Key wellbeing activities & staff at ECEHH
1. Monetary valuation of wellbeing - Tim Taylor
2. Development of international wellbeing indicators/index/data - BUPA funded project - Mike Depledge, Mat White (with Fiona Adshead)
3. Wellbeing measures in secondary data sources - Ben Wheeler, Mat White, Clive Sabel
4. High spatial/temporal resolution measurement of individual wellbeing and environmental conditions/perceptions (UoE Open Innovation funded pilot) - Sahran Higgins, Becca Lovell, Ben Wheeler, Mike Depledge
5. Workplace health and wellbeing – Jane Abraham, Julie Pepper, Lora Fleming
6. Wellbeing measures – individual/household/family (Mat White, Ian Alcock)
7. URGENCHE project – assessment of the overall risks and benefits of alternative greenhouse gas emission reduction policies for health and well-being in China and Europe. FP7 project led by Clive Sabel.
8. Mapping wellbeing for small areas across the UK using data from ONS survey (Clive Sabel, Ben Wheeler).
9. Biodiversity, ecosystem services and wellbeing – Mike Depledge, Ben Wheeler, Becca Lovell, Sahran Higgins, Mat White, Tim Taylor
10. Various PhD projects investigating natural environment-wellbeing relationships
Key wellbeing activities & staff at ECEHH
Wheeler, White, Stahl-Timmins & Depledge. 2012. Health & Place.
Blue Space & perceived restorativeness
Showed people 120 images: Built, Green, Blue
Primary Prop. (≈2/3rds)Aquatic Green Built
Secondary Prop. (≈1/3rd)Aquatic Green Built Aquatic Green Built Aquatic Green Built Total
Scene only 8 4 4 4 8 4 4 4 8 48
+ Animal/s 4 2 2 2 4 2 2 2 4 24
+ Person/s 4 2 2 2 4 2 2 2 4 24
+ Object/s 4 2 2 2 4 2 2 2 4 24
Total20 10 10 10 20 10 10 10 20 120
White, M.P., Smith, A., Humphryes, K., Pahl, S., Snelling, D. & Depledge, M. (2010) Blue space: The importance of water for preference, affect and restorativeness ratings of natural and built scenes. Journal of Environmental Psychology.
3/3rds Green
2/3rds Green
2/3rds Blue
3/3rds Blue
5 items from the Perceived
Restorativeness Scale, e.g. “That is a place which is away
from everyday demands and where I would be able to relax and think about what
interests me”
Perceived restorativenessHow good is this place for helping you feel better and think clearer?
Built Green Green/Blue Blue1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Photo environment
Pe
rce
ive
d r
es
tora
tiv
en
es
s
Means with standard errors
White, M.P., Smith, A., Humphryes, K., Pahl, S., Snelling, D. & Depledge, M. (2010) Blue space: The importance of water for preference, affect and restorativeness ratings of natural and built scenes. Journal of Environmental Psychology.
Bluespace & perceived restorativeness
Systematic Review
• 11 trials (6 on young students)• Most showed some improvement in one
or more mental wellbeing measures• But studies highly heterogeneous, and
some significant quality limitations
Measures
• Scales – GHQ, WEMWBS etc• Health outcome measures• QoL measures• Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA)
How happy/relaxed/sad etc. do you feel right now? (mappiness, George McKerron)
• Day Reconstruction Method (DRM, Kahneman)How happy/relaxed/sad etc do you feel during different activities YESTERDAY + DURATION
Daniel Kahneman
-0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
-1
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
Relatively Unpleasurable
Relatively Pleasurable (z-scores)
Relatively Unrewarding
Relatively Rewarding (z-scores)
Fun & rewarding
Rewarding but not fun
Fun but not rewarding
Not fun or rewarding
White & Dolan (2009)
-0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
-1
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
Volunteering
Pray/ Meditate
Time with Children
Cook
Exercise
Enjoying nature Socialise
Read/internet
TV
Rest/relax
Work
Housework
Listen to music
Commute
Self-care
Sex
Shopping
Relatively Unpleasurable
Relatively Pleasurable (z-scores)
Relatively Unrewarding
Relatively Rewarding (z-scores)
Eat
Fun & rewarding
White & Dolan (2009)
Rewarding but not fun
Fun but not rewarding
Not fun or rewarding
"Money isn't everything. Governments have forgotten this... [We should deliver] the best possible quality of life.”
Tony Blair
"We have to remember what makes people happy, as well as what makes stock markets rise. It’s time we focused not just on GDP, but on general wellbeing.”
David Cameron
Dolan, P, Peasgood, T., & White, M.P. (2006). Review of research on the influences on personal well-being and application to policy making. Project Report for DEFRA.
UK Sustainability Index & “Well-being”
UK Sustainability Indicators 2010
www.ecehh.org