Health-Promoting Nature Access for People with Mobility Impairments: A Systematic Review.

Gaochao Zhang,Marie C Gramkow,Victoria L Lygum,Ulrika K Stigsdotter,Sus S Corazon,Dorthe V Poulsen

doi:10.3390/ijerph14070703

Abstract

This study systematically evaluated the scientific evidence for health benefits of natural environments for people with mobility impairments. Literature searches based on five categories of terms—target group, nature type, health-related impacts, nature-related activities and accessibility issues—were conducted in four databases (Web of Science, Scopus, CAB ABSTRACT and Medline). Twenty-seven articles from 4196 hits were included in the systematic reviews. We concluded that people with mobility disabilities could gain different health benefits, including physical health benefits, mental health benefits and social health benefits from nature in different kinds of nature contacts ranging from passive contact, active involvement to rehabilitative interventions. Several issues related to the accessibility and use of nature for people with mobility impairments need attention from professionals such as landscape architects, rehabilitative therapists, caregivers and policy makers. The overall quality of methodology of the included studies is not high based on assessment of the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Moreover, more randomized controlled trials and longitudinal studies that focus specifically on evidence-based health design of nature for people with mobility impairments in the future are needed.

Highlights

Over the last decades, research on the association between human health and natural environments has developed into an interdisciplinary research field, which is being carried out in many parts of the world, for example in northern America, Europe, Asia and Australia [1,2]
Even though this research has not yet determined causality, it can be said that the collective amount of research evidence confirms that both visual and physical contact with natural environments is beneficial to human health
Natural environments have a positive impact on human health by reducing the time it takes to recover from stressful events [3], reducing mental fatigue [4], increasing social ties [5] and encouraging people to engage in more physical activities [6]

Summary

Introduction

Research on the association between human health and natural environments has developed into an interdisciplinary research field, which is being carried out in many parts of the world, for example in northern America, Europe, Asia and Australia [1,2]. Even though this research has not yet determined causality, it can be said that the collective amount of research evidence confirms that both visual and physical contact with natural environments is beneficial to human health. Natural environments have a positive impact on human health by reducing the time it takes to recover from stressful events [3], reducing mental fatigue [4], increasing social ties [5] and encouraging people to engage in more physical activities [6]. People with disabilities constitute a large proportion of users of natural environments. As a group, they are subject to increasing attention worldwide with regard to improving their access to different environments.

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Discussion

Conclusion