Abstract
The health benefits of urban green spaces have been found to vary for different populations, such as people of different socio-demographics or different cultures. Among these populations, one remains understudied although its numbers are growing: Chinese international students. Indeed, more and more Chinese students choose to go abroad for higher education but face specific challenges, often resulting in them experiencing high levels of stress and poor health. This study explores the link between Chinese international students’ use of local green spaces and the effect on their perceived stress and health. An online survey was created to collect data from 186 Chinese international students studying in Edinburgh, Scotland (UK). The data covered the participants’ reported health status and their perceived stress levels, the strategies they use when coping with stress, their awareness of the benefits of visiting green spaces as well as their self-reported use of and access to local green spaces. The findings show a significant correlation between access to and use of urban green spaces and the self-reported wellbeing indicators. Some of the barriers experienced by participants in visiting green spaces were also explored. By investigating the specific behaviors of this emerging and vulnerable population, this study expands the corpus of existing evidence for the role played by urban green spaces in supporting wellbeing. Some recommendations to support the health of this community using urban green spaces can therefore be proposed.
Highlights
IntroductionThere is an expanding body of research studying the relationship between urban green spaces and human health [1]
This study expands the existing evidence based on the links between urban green spaces and health to include international Chinese students living in the UK
This growing population is known to experience significant stress related to adaptative and transitional challenges but is currently understudied. This new data shows a strong association between urban green spaces and students’ health status, supporting the existing corpus of evidence on the health benefits of natural environments
Summary
There is an expanding body of research studying the relationship between urban green spaces and human health [1]. Some studies have focused on the impact of green space on specific populations, which might be more vulnerable to health issues, such as older people [9], ethnic minorities [10], or people in deprived communities [11,12,13]. This paper proposes to extend the corpus of existing evidence supporting the relationship between green spaces and health by examining an emerging population: international. This group represents both an ethnic and cultural minority while its members face their own developmental challenges, making them part of another vulnerable population [14,15]
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