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“We don’t separate out these things. Everything is related”: Partnerships with Indigenous Communities to Design, Implement, and Evaluate Multilevel Interventions to Reduce Health Disparities
Figure 1. An overview of the partnerships in MLIs by building on the Indigenous Holistic Health and Wellness Multilevel Framework Multilevel interventions (MLIs) are appropriate to reduce health disparities among Indigenous peoples because of their ability to address these communities’ diverse histories, dynamics, cultures, politics, and environments. Intervention science has highlighted the importance of context-sensitive MLIs in Indigenous communities that can prioritize Indigenous and local knowledge systems and emphasize the collective versus the individual. This paradigm shift away from individual-level focus interventions to community-level focus interventions underscores the need for community engagement and diverse partnerships in MLI design, implementation, and evaluation. In this paper, we discuss three case studies addressing how Indigenous partners collaborated with researchers in each stage of the design, implementation, and evaluation of MLIs to reduce health disparities impacting their communities. We highlight the following: Collaborations with multiple, diverse tribal partners to carry out MLIs which require iterative, consistent conversations over time; Inclusion of qualitative and Indigenous research methods in MLIs as a way to honor Indigenous and local knowledge systems as well as a way to understand a health disparity phenomenon in a community; and Relationship building, maintenance, and mutual respect among MLI partners to reconcile past research abuses, prevent extractive research practices, decolonize research processes, and generate co-created knowledge between Indigenous and academic communities.
Read moreA National Model for Estimating US Public Land Visitation
Figure 1. Map of study locations and regions, colored by management agency. Shaded areasshow unit boundaries for units which are larger than the points. Public land management relies on accurate visitor counts in order to understand and mitigate environmental impacts and to quantify the value of ecosystem services provided by natural areas. We built and tested predictive visitation models suitable for publicly-managed parks, open space and other protected lands based on multiple sources of digital mobility data including posts to social media, recreation report platforms, and a cellular device location dataset from a commercial vendor. Using observational visitation data series from the United States’ National Park Service, Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service, we quantified the accuracy of statistical models to predict on-the-ground visitation using individual and combined sources of locational data. We found the predictive models performed best in settings where some on-site visitation data can be integrated into the models. On-site visitation data helps to account for meaningful differences in modeled relationships both within and across the three agencies considered. We found variation in the usefulness of the digital mobility data sources, with models combining multiple data sources outperforming those using a single source, including those based solely on cellular device locations. We discuss the practical implications of these findings as well as paths forward to improve visitation estimation on public lands by incorporating digital mobility data.
Read moreAssociations of Nature Contact with Emotional Ill-Being and Well-Being: The Role of Emotion Regulation
Figure 1. Bayesian structural equation model results with frequency of nature contact, emotion regulation, and emotional ill-being and well-being. Nature contact has associations with emotional ill-being and well-being. However, the mechanisms underlying these associations are not fully understood. We hypothesised that increased adaptive and decreased maladaptive emotion regulation strategies would be a pathway linking nature contact to ill-being and well-being. Using data from a survey of 600 U.S.-based adults administered online in 2022, we conducted structural equation modelling to test our hypotheses. We found that: Frequency of nature contact was significantly associated with lesser emotional ill-being and greater emotional well-being, Effective emotion regulation was significantly associated with lesser emotional ill-being and greater emotional well-being, and The associations of higher frequency of nature contact with these benefits were partly explained via emotion regulation. Moreover, we found a nonlinear relationship for the associations of duration of nature contact with some outcomes, with a rise in benefits up to certain amounts of time, and a levelling off after these points. These findings support and extend previous work that demonstrates that the associations of nature contact with emotional ill-being and well-being may be partly explained by changes in emotion regulation.
Read moreAssociations of Residential Green Space with Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior in Early Childhood
Figure 1. Associations between residential green space and CBCL scores. Background Green space exposures may promote child mental health and well-being across multiple domains and stages of development. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between residential green space exposures and child mental and behavioral health at age 4–6 years. Methods Children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors in the Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE) cohort in Shelby County, Tennessee, were parent-reported on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). We examined three exposures—residential surrounding greenness calculated as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), tree cover, and park proximity—averaged across the residential history for the year prior to outcome assessment. Linear regression models were adjusted for individual, household, and neighborhood-level confounders across multiple domains. Effect modification by neighborhood socioeconomic conditions was explored using multiplicative interaction terms. Results Children were on average 4.2 years (range 3.8-6.0) at outcome assessment. Among CANDLE mothers, 65% self-identified as Black, 29% as White, and 6% as another or multiple races; 41% had at least a college degree. Higher residential surrounding greenness was associated with lower internalizing behavior scores (-0.66 per 0.1 unit higher NDVI; 95% CI: -1.26, -0.07) in fully-adjusted models. The association between tree cover and internalizing behavior was in the hypothesized direction but confidence intervals included the null (-0.29 per 10% higher tree cover; 95% CI: -0.62, 0.04). No associations were observed between park proximity and internalizing behavior. We did not find any associations with externalizing behaviors or the attention problems subscale. Estimates were larger in neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic opportunity, but interaction terms were not statistically significant. Conclusions Our findings add to the accumulating evidence of the importance of residential green space for the prevention of internalizing problems among young children. This research suggests the prioritization of urban green spaces as a resource for child mental health.
Read moreBuilt Environment and Public Health: More Than 20 Years of Progress
FIGURE 1— Built Environment and Health Articles Indexed by Four Databases, 2003–2022 Fall 2023 marked 20 years since the AJPH “Built Environment and Health” (BEH) special issue.1 The issue highlighted the reengagement of health and design professions and growing interest in the built environment’s potential to improve health. Public health and urban planning linkages were not new. Late 19th- and early 20th-century efforts to improve air, water, food, and housing quality; sanitation; and workplace safety contributed to better quality of life and increased life expectancy. The sectors became isolated over time, with little collaboration until recent decades. The anniversary of the special issue offers an opportunity to inventory progress in BEH: combined perspectives from public health, urban planning, architecture, transportation, and related fields on how the physical components of where we live, work, learn, and play influence health. The following sections contain an overview of BEH progress in research, practice, education, and policy, as well as current context and future priorities.
Read moreCollective Co-existence, Climate Apocalypse, and a Nature-Relational Way Forward
We begin by looking into the future – not too far in years to be too far-fetched, but far enough to point to a critical time in terms of our collective coexistence. 15 years ahead. If we were writing this in the early 1900’s, our time frame would have been around 100 years. Our timeframe is shorter now because in technological terms the rate of change has been increasing exponentially. As an example of an exponential function, take a dollar and double it every day. After a week you have 64 dollars, which is a nice amount but nothing too surprising. But after a month you have over a billion dollars. That is part of the experience of exponential functions: They can start out looking rather modest, if not linear, but at some point shoot skyward, at which point it is difficult for the human mind to comprehend even the next iteration. So, it has been in our evolutionary history (Ehrlich and Ehrlich 2008). About 1.6 million years ago, Homo erectus is believed to have first controlled fire. About 50,000 years ago, Homo sapiens deliberately used bone, ivory, and shell objects to shape projectile points, needles, and awls, and engaged in cave painting and sculpture. About 10,000 years ago, with the rise of agriculture, rudimentary tools were invented to domesticate land and animals. By about the middle of the third millennium b.c., blast furnaces in China were invented to cast iron. By the sixth century there was the iron plow, and by the thirteenth century the spinning wheel. The Western Renaissance emerged in the 1700’s, and then after that was the Industrial Revolution. The greatest amount of technological innovation in the shortest period of time has occurred in the last fifty years, and even in the last twenty years, especially with those technologies that build on digital computation. Back in 1965, Moore’s (2006) law was that the number of transistors in microchips doubles about every two years, which pretty much continues to this day. In turn, exponential technological growth has spurred equally fast social transformations. It took 70 years for the landline telephone to become pervasive in modern societies and transform modes of communication. It took seven years for the cellphone to do the same thing; and now, more recently, for social media by means of smartphones to create “information echo chambers” where falsehoods are amplified, social life splintered, and democracies threatened.
Read moreDigging Into Nature: Outdoor Adventures for Healthier and Happier Kids
Children living in the United States spend an average of 7 hours a day on entertainment media, including TVs, phones, computers, and video game systems. It’s a lose-lose scenario. Kids are suffering the effects of too much screen time and they’re missing out on the very real benefits of spending time outside. Pediatricians and nature experts Pooja Sarin Tandon and Danette Swanson Glassy make the convincing case that children and families will be happier, healthier, and more resilient when spending time in nature. They offer a wealth of suggestions for nature-based activities and suggestions for overcoming common challenges busy families face when trying to increase their outdoor time. The authors address the importance of nature for children’s health at every age from infancy through adolescence and link their suggested activities to key developmental milestones. Digging Into Nature takes an inclusive approach, providing practical tips for parents of children with special health care needs, chronic health conditions, and cultural considerations to help all children reap the gifts that the great outdoors offer. Related Media Podcasts Outdoors Adventures for Happier Kids (November 2024) The Importance of Getting Our Children Into Nature (September 30, 2024) Pediatricians Share Why Kids Need Time in Nature (September 30, 2024) Reviews Parent Review: Digging into Nature (October 14, 2024)
Read moreHealth Professionals and the Climate Crisis
Health professionals from every corner of the health sector—from allergy to vascular surgery, from epidemiology to environmental health, from nursing to hospital administration—have recognized the magnitude and urgency of the climate crisis. A growing literature provides guidance on how to conceptualize and meet the vast challenges we face and on how to keep our spirits up as we do so.
Read moreIndividual and Neighborhood Level Predictors of Children’s Exposure to Residential Greenspace
Figure 1. Distribution of (A) residential surrounding greenness, (B) tree cover, and (C) park proximity, in the CANDLE cohort for the residential address reported at the time of the age 4–6 year study visit (n = 1012). Residential surrounding greenness is assessed using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) within a 300-m radial buffer of the home address. Tree cover is assessed as the percentage of the census block group. Park proximity is assessed as the distance to the nearest boundary of a park; the x-axis is truncated at 5 km for visualization purposes. Inequities in urban greenspace have been identified, though patterns by race and socioeconomic status vary across US settings. We estimated the magnitude of the relationship between a broad mixture of neighborhood-level factors and residential greenspace using weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression, and compared predictive models of greenspace using only neighborhood-level, only individual-level, or multi-level predictors. Greenspace measures included the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), tree canopy, and proximity of the nearest park, for residential locations in Shelby County, Tennessee of children in the CANDLE cohort. Neighborhood measures include socioeconomic and education resources, as well as racial composition and racial residential segregation. In this sample of 1012 mother–child dyads, neighborhood factors were associated with higher NDVI and tree canopy (0.021 unit higher NDVI [95% CI: 0.014, 0.028] per quintile increase in WQS index); homeownership rate, proximity of and enrollment at early childhood education centers, and racial composition, were highly weighted in the WQS index. In models constrained in the opposite direction (0.028 unit lower NDVI [95% CI: − 0.036, − 0.020]), high school graduation rate and teacher experience were highly weighted. In prediction models, adding individual-level predictors to the suite of neighborhood characteristics did not meaningfully improve prediction accuracy for greenspace measures. Our findings highlight disparities in greenspace for families by neighborhood socioeconomic and early education factors, and by race, suggesting several neighborhood indicators for consideration both as potential confounders in studies of greenspace and pediatric health as well as in the development of policies and programs to improve equity in greenspace access.
Read moreMeasuring Urban Nature for Pedestrian Health: Systematic Review and Expert Survey
Walking and access to nature are two of the most effective health promotion and disease prevention strategies. There has been a growing interest in the dynamic pathways among access to nature, walking, and health. Effective measurement of these variables is the prerequisite to advancing our understanding of such pathways. However, contrasting to the rigorous methods available for walking and health measures, methods to quantify nature have been limited. This study uses a systematic literature review to synthesize urban nature measures (UNMs) used in published studies linking urban nature with pedestrian health outcomes (e.g. walking, physical activity, physical health, mental health). A survey of experts (n = 30) was used to identify additional and emerging methods. The literature search identified 115 articles and 48 UNMs most of which (40 or 83%) were objective measures. Results showed no consensus on the optimal UNMs for pedestrian health research, but certain measures such as NDVI, proximity to green spaces, and area/proportion of green spaces, were popularly used in previous studies. Experts suggested emerging methods including LiDAR, GPS, high-resolution imagery, virtual/augmented reality, and context-sensitive ecological momentary assessment. Major gaps in current UNMs included the shortage of eye-level and quality-related measures. While experts acknowledge the promise of emerging technologies, they shared concerns related to privacy, digital divide, confidentiality, and bias. This study offers insights into the UNMs available to quantify nature for pedestrian health research, which can serve to facilitate future research, community actions, and policy changes aimed at promoting walking and nature access for healthier urban communities.
Read moreMechanisms Underlying the Associations Between Different Types of Nature Exposure and Sleep Duration: An 18-Country Analysis
Figure 1. Schematic representation of conceptual model of the relationships between nature exposures, proposed mediators and insufficient sleep. Whilst green space has been linked to healthier sleep outcomes, the roles of specific types of nature exposure, potential underlying mechanisms, and between-country variations in nature-sleep associations have received little attention. Drawing on cross-sectional survey data from an 18-country sample of adults (N = 16,077) the current study examined: 1) the relative associations between six different types of nature exposure (streetscape greenery, blue view from home, green space within 1 km, coast within 1 km, green space visits, blue space visits) and insufficient sleep (<6 h vs. 7–10 h per day); 2) whether these relationships were mediated by better mental wellbeing and/or physical activity; and 3) the consistency of these pathways among the different countries. After controlling for covariates, neighbourhood nature measures (green space, coast within 1 km) were not significantly associated with insufficient sleep; but nature visible from home (streetscape greenery, blue views and recreational visits to green and blue spaces were each associated with less insufficient sleep. Significant nature-sleep associations were mediated, to varying degrees, by better mental wellbeing, but not self-reported physical activity. Country-level heterogeneity in the strength of nature-sleep associations was observed. Increasing nature visible from the home may represent a promising strategy for promoting healthier sleep duration at the population level, whilst nature-based interventions encouraging individuals to spend time in local green/blue spaces may be an appropriate target to assist individuals affected by insufficient sleep.
Read moreNature and Human Well-Being: The Olfactory Pathway
Figure 1. Conceptual framework of the pathway from exposure to natural olfactory environments to human well-being. The olfactory environment is characterized by the concentrations and ratios of airborne chemicals. Dimensions of olfactory function (i.e., sensitivity, discrimination, and identification) are influenced by a variety of individual and environmental factors, which together moderate olfactory perception. Subjective experience is a mediator through which olfactory perceptions lead to well-being outcomes. Relevant determinants of this experience include individual preference, culture, association, prior experience, and multisensory context. Other pathways to well-being include those that occur below the threshold of perception (i.e., subthreshold) and those that occur via initial affective responses that are suprathreshold but independent of top-down processes related to subjective experience. These components lead to a variety of well-being outcomes, from broader dimensions such as quality of and satisfaction with life, to emotional responses and emotion regulation, cognitive function, influences on behavior (social interactions and dietary choices), stress, depressive symptoms, (anti-)inflammatory processes, and effects from exposures to pathogens. Together, these outcomes are the result of subthreshold biochemical processes, initial affective responses, and subjective appraisals of odors from nature. A variety of other pathways mediate the relationship between olfactory environments and human well-being, although they are not illustrated here. Credit: University of Washington The world is undergoing massive atmospheric and ecological change, driving unprecedented challenges to human well-being. Olfaction is a key sensory system through which these impacts occur. The sense of smell influences quality of and satisfaction with life, emotion, emotion regulation, cognitive function, social interactions, dietary choices, stress, and depressive symptoms. Exposures via the olfactory pathway can also lead to (anti-)inflammatory outcomes. Increased understanding is needed regarding the ways in which odorants generated by nature (i.e., natural olfactory environments) affect human well-being. With perspectives from a range of health, social, and natural sciences, we provide an overview of this unique sensory system, four consensus statements regarding olfaction and the environment, and a conceptual framework that integrates the olfactory pathway into an understanding of the effects of natural environments on human well-being. We then discuss how this framework can contribute to better accounting of the impacts of policy and land-use decision-making on natural olfactory environments and, in turn, on planetary health. Related Media How the smells of nature can affect human well-being (May 29, 2024) How do the smells of nature affect well-being? A call for more research. (May 23, 2024) Nature’s scents linked to improved health and well-being (May 16, 2024)
Read morePhysical Activity in Natural Settings: An Opportunity for Lifestyle Medicine
Physical activity is a well-known behavior for promoting health and preventing a variety of chronic diseases. Despite widespread knowledge of the benefits of physical activity, most Americans do not engage in sufficient physical activity. Over the past decade, there has been increasing recognition of the health benefits of spending time in nature, mediated in part through physical activity. This has led to new partnerships across health, parks and recreation, public lands, and environmental organizations to increase time spent, and physical activity, in natural settings. This review assesses the current evidence around physical activity in natural settings (PANS), strategies for promoting PANS including health professional engagement, and current gaps in the research literature. Related Media Does Greenspace Plus Exercise Boost the Individual Health Benefits of Each? (June 11, 2024)
Read morePromoting Health Through Nature-Based Climate Solutions
Nature-based climate solutions represent a set of strategies and tools that can help mitigate carbon emissions, remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, promote adaptation to climate change, and build resilience. They need to be implemented as part of an integrated set of climate actions. They aim to accomplish specific mitigation and adaptation goals effectively, economically, and safely. They deliver a wide range of co-benefits, including co-benefits for health and well-being. Nature-based climate solutions can cause unintended and even harmful consequences, and therefore need to be carefully planned, implemented, and managed. This chapter explores nature-based climate solutions in cities as well as in rural and wildland areas. It discusses tradeoffs, policy levers, economic levers, communications, and equity considerations that arise in implementing nature-based climate solutions. The chapter also includes a textbox on ecosystem services and nature’s services to people, and a textbox on the number of trees that the world can support.
Read morePublic Nature and Health for Homeless Populations: Professionals’ Perceptions of Contingent Human Benefits and Harms
Table 1. Characteristics of the overall homeless and unsheltered homeless population in Washington (statewide), and King and Snohomish counties (US Census, 2020; US HUD, 2022a; 2022b). Highlights Professionals observe benefits and harms of natural area use for homeless populations. Perceived harms include increased environmental exposures and social vulnerability. Perceived benefits include privacy, desired social conditions, and reduced stress. Relationships between nature and health were seen as variable and context dependent. This article investigates relationships between public nature and health for unsheltered homeless populations. It examines perceptions of health benefits and harms for people living in public natural areas including local, state, and national forests and parks in the Seattle metropolitan area (USA). Interviews with environmental, social service, and law enforcement professionals who regularly interact with this vulnerable population were conducted and thematically analyzed to understand perceptions of physical and mental health outcomes. Results show professionals’ perspectives on the health benefits and detriments of time spent in natural environments and the contextual factors perceived to influence health. Interviewees’ observations about the variability of personal circumstances and biophysical, social, and weather conditions encourage the nuanced consideration of how contingent therapeutic landscapes provide deeply needed benefits, but for a population with a diminished capacity to adapt when conditions change. We conclude with insights for future research that directly assesses homeless populations’ exposures and health outcomes of living in public natural areas.
Read moreQuantifying Nature: Introducing NatureScoreTM and NatureDoseTM as Health Analysis and Promotion Tools
The Value of Nature Exposure in the 21st Century Figure 1. New tools to quantify nature at any location in the United States (NatureScoreTM, left panel) and an individual’s daily or weekly exposure to nature (NatureDoseTM, right panel). The app provides NatureScoreTM values to users within a 1-km buffer, although values can be calculated at smaller distances or averaged across spatial units (i.e., census tracts). Humanity is undergoing a monumental shift. People have rapidly moved from a largely natural, outdoor existence to life in built, urban settings. Most places where people live and work differ dramatically from the ones we occupied for 99.9% of human history, and our current surroundings often physically separate us from the natural world. Most people—over half globally and approximately 4 in 5 in the United States—now live in urban areas,1 where nearby nature exposure tends to be limited2 and unequally distributed across socioeconomic and racial/ethnic subgroups.3-6 Adults in higher-income countries spend 80%-90% of their lives sedentary and indoors,7-9 with 6 to 8 hours or more spent each day looking at screens.10-12 The same is increasingly true for our developing youth,10,13,14 who may experience poorer health across their life span as a result.15 Over the last 30 years, physicians, scientists, and journalists have come to suspect that we are experiencing a “nature deficit disorder,” or “extinction of experience”.16-22 With the loss of direct exposure to nature has also come diminished knowledge of where food comes from, an inability to recognize plants and animals, fewer opportunities to experience awe (being in the presence of something vast that transcends current understandings of the world), and a failure to develop positive emotions and empathy toward other people and the non-human world.23-25 In response to growing concerns about this radical shift, scientists worldwide have studied how nature exposure is associated with human health.26-31 The links between declining nature exposure and increasing depression, anxiety, heart disease, and premature mortality are increasingly clear.26,32 A large and growing body of scientific literature demonstrates that exposure to nature, broadly encompassing green spaces, trees, parks, water bodies, deserts, wilderness areas, wildlife, and more,30,33 is associated with measurable and meaningful benefits to dozens of facets of psychological and physical health.31,33-35 These benefits can follow from nature exposure in a variety of forms, from passively viewing nature from a park bench to walking along a tree-lined street or practicing shinrin-yoku (“forest bathing”)36 in an urban forest. At a population level, the presence of nature has also been linked to important societal benefits, such as higher property values,37 lower healthcare expenses,38,39 lower levels of air pollution, noise, and heat,40-43 as well as lower crime rates,44,45 enhanced social mobility,46 more cohesive communities,47-50 and resilience to public health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.50,51 These beneficial associations are believed to result from natural areas mitigating environmental hazards, restoring cognitive capacity, reducing stress reactivity, facilitating interactions with commensurate microbiota, and promoting healthy behaviors, such as physical activity and social interaction.30,34,52,53 Like exercise, sleep, and a healthy diet,54 nature exposure may well be a necessary health behavior to promote longevity, prevent disease, and enhance wellbeing.55-57 “Nature prescribing” by healthcare providers, a growing movement, can serve as a tool for health promotion with minimal cost, side effects, equipment needs, or training requirements. Few medications or existing interventions can match these qualities. For instance, the American Heart Association’s “Life’s Essential 8” asserts that the following can help achieve an “ideal” cardiovascular health: a healthy diet, ≥150 minutes of moderate exercise or ≥75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week, not smoking or vaping, sleeping 7 to 9 hours each night, maintaining a healthy body mass index, and regularly checking and maintaining cholesterol, fasting blood sugar, and blood pressure levels.54 Nature exposure might be comparable to several of these recommendations in terms of potential health benefits and come with fewer barriers to starting and maintaining a regular practice.
Read moreStreet Trees Provide an Opportunity to Mitigate Urban Heat and Reduce Risk of High Heat Exposure
Figure 1. Study area for this work, which is part of the Greening Research in Tacoma (GRIT) project, is located in South Tacoma, Washington, USA, shown by the black square on global map, where solar radiation shields (photographed) containing temperature loggers were installed on utility poles. Here we report on temperature data from loggers at 46 locations throughout the neighborhood (blue dots) during summer 2022. Climate change is exacerbating the need for urban greening and the associated environmental and human well-being benefits. Trees can help mitigate urban heat, but more detailed understanding of cooling effects of green infrastructure are needed to guide management decisions and deploy trees as effective and equitable climate adaptation infrastructure. We investigated how urban trees affect summer air temperature along sidewalks within a neighborhood of Tacoma, Washington, USA, and to what extent urban trees reduce risks of high summer temperatures (i.e., the levels regulated by state outdoor heat exposure rules intended to reduce heat-related illnesses). Air temperature varied by 2.57 °C, on average, across our study area, and the probability of daytime temperatures exceeding regulated high temperature thresholds was up to five times greater in locations with no canopy cover within 10 m compared to those with 100% cover. Air temperatures decreased linearly with increasing cover within 10 m, suggesting that every unit of added tree cover can help cool the air. Our findings highlight the value of trees in mitigating urban heat, especially given expected warming with climate change. Protecting existing urban trees and increasing tree cover (e.g., by planting street trees), are important actions to enhance climate change resilience of urban areas.
Read moreSusceptibility to Stress and Nature Exposure: Unveiling Differential Susceptibility to Physical Environments; A Randomized Controlled Trial
Figure 1. Theoretical framework. Emerging epidemiological evidence indicates that nature exposure could be associated with cardiovascular health among individuals in low socioeconomic positions to a greater degree than among more privileged groups. Continue reading at PLOS ONE. Background Emerging epidemiological evidence indicates nature exposure could be associated with greater health benefits among groups in lower versus higher socioeconomic positions. One possible mechanism underpinning this evidence is described by our framework: (susceptibility) adults in low socioeconomic positions face higher exposure to persistent psychosocial stressors in early life, inducing a pro-inflammatory phenotype as a lifelong susceptibility to stress; (differential susceptibility) susceptible adults are more sensitive to the health risks of adverse (stress-promoting) environments, but also to the health benefits of protective (stress-buffering) environments. Objective Experimental investigation of a pro-inflammatory phenotype as a mechanism facilitating greater stress recovery from nature exposure. Methods We determined differences in stress recovery (via heart rate variability) caused by exposure to a nature or office virtual reality environment (10 min) after an acute stressor among 64 healthy college-age males with varying levels of susceptibility (socioeconomic status, early life stress, and a pro-inflammatory state [inflammatory reactivity and glucocorticoid resistance to an in vitro bacterial challenge]). Results Findings for inflammatory reactivity and glucocorticoid resistance were modest but consistently trended towards better recovery in the nature condition. Differences in recovery were not observed for socioeconomic status or early life stress. Discussion Among healthy college-age males, we observed expected trends according to their differential susceptibility when assessed as inflammatory reactivity and glucocorticoid resistance, suggesting these biological correlates of susceptibility could be more proximal indicators than self-reported assessments of socioeconomic status and early life stress. If future research in more diverse populations aligns with these trends, this could support an alternative conceptualization of susceptibility as increased environmental sensitivity, reflecting heightened responses to adverse, but also protective environments. With this knowledge, future investigators could examine how individual differences in environmental sensitivity could provide an opportunity for those who are the most susceptible to experience the greatest health benefits from nature exposure.
Read moreThe Fundamentals of Environmental Neuroscience
In this chapter, we explore the fundamentals of the field of environmental neuroscience. We start by defining the field of environmental neuroscience and then proceed to describing its roots and outlining some of its distinguishing features. We define what we mean by an environment, including those factors that are considered in this work, focus on the effects of natural environments, and note why many researchers do the same. We then discuss some of the mechanisms through which natural environments may affect brain processing through the perception of different visual and acoustic features and the centrality of attentional processes. We close by discussing some of the pitfalls and challenges that environmental neuroscientists face and how those challenges may be overcome in the future.
Read moreThe Influence of Wildfire Risk Reduction Programs and Practices on Recreation Visitation
Figure 1. Area within the Deschutes Skyline Collaborative ForestLandscape Restoration Project (in blue) compared with the area of the remainder of the Deschutes National Forest (in green). Map made in QGIS v 3.30. Background The increasing extent and severity of uncharacteristic wildfire has prompted numerous policies and programs promoting landscape-scale fuels reduction. Aims We used novel data sources to measure how recreation was influenced by fuels reduction efforts under the US Forest Service Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration (CFLR) Program. Methods We used posts to four social media platforms to estimate the number of social media user-days within CFLR landscapes and asked: (1) did visitation within CFLR Program landscapes between 2012 and 2020 change in a manner consistent with the pattern on nearby lands, and (2) was there a relationship between the magnitudes of specific fuel treatment activities within CFLR landscapes and visitation to that landscape? Key results In aggregate, visitation to the CFLR landscapes changed at a rate mirroring the trend observed elsewhere. Within CFLR landscapes, pre-commercial thinning and pruning had slight positive influences on visitation whereas prescribed burning and managed wildfire had slight negative influences. Conclusions Fuel treatments can have a modest influence on visitation, but we didnot find any wholesale changes in visitation within CFLR landscapes. Implications Social media and other novel data sources offer an opportunity to fill in gaps in empirical data on recreation to better understand social-ecological system linkages.
Read moreWhat Types of Nature Exposure Are Associated With Hedonic, Eudaimonic and Evaluative Wellbeing? An 18-Country Study
Figure 2. Summary of fully adjusted models of all dimensions of SWB and residential availability and visits to green space, coastal blue space and freshwater blue space. Although spending time in nature can improve subjective wellbeing (SWB), little is known about how different types of nature exposure are associated with different dimensions of SWB or the consistency of associations across national/cultural contexts. Using data from 18 countries, associations between green, coastal and freshwater blue space exposures (including residential availability, visits ‘yesterday’ and visits in the previous four weeks) and hedonic, eudaimonic, and evaluative wellbeing were estimated. Overall, residential nature availability showed little association with any wellbeing outcome, whereas visiting green and coastal locations ‘yesterday’ was associated with better hedonic wellbeing. Although frequently visiting green, coastal and freshwater spaces were all associated with greater evaluative wellbeing, greater eudaimonic wellbeing was only associated with frequent visits to green and freshwater spaces. Variations existed across countries. Results suggest that different types of nature exposure vary in their association with different dimensions of SWB. Understanding these differences may help us maximise the potential of natural environments as SWB-promoting resources.
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