Nature's Contributions to Human Health: A Missing Link to Primary Health Care? A Scoping Review of International Overview Reports and Scientific Evidence

Self Cite

Visiting nature is positively associated with physical and mental well-being. The role of nature became more pronounced during the coronavirus outbreak in the spring of 2020. Countries all over the world implemented confinement measures to reduce the transmission of the virus. These included but were not limited to the cancelation of public events, schools, and non-essential businesses and the prohibition of non-essential travels. However, going outside to exercise was recommended by the Belgian government. During this period, we conducted an online survey to determine if people visit nature more frequently than before and to identify the factors that contribute to this. The results are based on data from 11,352 participants in Flanders, Belgium. With the use of a bivariate and multiple regression analysis, results indicate that people visit nature more frequently than before and that nature helped to maintain social relationships during the coronavirus period. Gardens were reported to be the most popular place, followed by parks. More than half of the people experienced nature in a more positive way, and the belief that nature visits are important for general health increased. In addition, we found a positive association between nature visits and home satisfaction, as well as a positive association with subjective mental and physical health. Lastly, we identified several demographic factors contributing to the frequency of nature visits such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Our findings indicate the importance of nature visits for general well-being and highlight the need for nearby green infrastructure.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vitamin Nature: How Coronavirus Disease 2019 Has Highlighted Factors Contributing to the Frequency of Nature Visits in Flanders, Belgium

Lenaerts

Heyman

Decker

et al. 2021

Self Cite

“…It is also used to develop complex interventions ( 69 , 70 ), where “participation of stakeholders from definition to resolution” ( 22 ) is crucial. For ethical reasons and to create leverage for NABUCO, involving those impacted the most by the problem ( 70 , 71 ) and using local knowledge and experience ( 51 , 67 , 68 ) is significant, whilst building bridges between stakeholders and different disciplines. The PAR-design ( Figure 1 ) is supported by an adaptive non-linear PAR-cycle, characterized by planned and spontaneous interplay between the phases of co-design, implementation and evaluation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These may affect employee's, organizational and environmental health. Developing a professional and evidence-based framework in close collaboration with the stakeholders, while using local health and environmental knowledge (22,51,67), can lead to NBI protocols and guidelines for healthcare professionals and organizations. As a result, confidence and leverage might increase in choosing NBIs as a complementary approach to the prevention and recovery of burnout.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Operationalization of One Health Burnout Prevention and Recovery: Participatory Action Research-Design of Nature-Based Health Promotion Interventions for Employees

Sterckx

Broeck

Remmen

et al. 2021

Self Cite

Burnout is, besides a global, complex phenomenon, a public health issue with negative consequences on personal, organizational, social, and economic levels. This paper outlines the co-design of a novel Nature-based Burnout Coaching intervention, called NABUCO. Due to the complexity of burnout, we propose a One Health approach in healthcare, educational and governmental pilot organizations, to deliver guidelines and protocols for prevention and recovery of burnout. We advocate the inclusion of the salutogenic and mutual healing capacity of nature connectedness, facilitating a positive impact on mental and environmental health. A transdisciplinary Participative Action Research-design resulted in an iterative adaptive cycle of co-design, implementation, and evaluation of NABUCO.

“…Policy options that bring synergistic effects with other strategic objectives should get priority. For example, a policy choice to create jobs in rural areas through growing nutritious crops can create jobs for the unemployed in agriculture and also support the objective of achieving good health through nutrition ( 36 ). Policy options that constrain achieving other goals or undermine long-term resilience should be avoided or minimized as far as possible.…”

Section: A Framework For Prioritizing Policies and Improving Policy Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Framework for Improving Policy Priorities in Managing COVID-19 Challenges in Developing Countries

Rasul

2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to societies and threatened humanity and global resilience. All countries are challenged, but low-income and developing countries are facing a more challenging situation than others due to their limited health infrastructure, limited financial and human resources, and limited capacity of governments to respond. Further, the interconnected nature of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis demands an integrated approach and coordinated action, which complicates decision making even more. Identifying the best set of policies and instruments to address COVID-19 challenges, and aligning them with broader social goals will be critically important for sustainable recovery from the pandemic. The key practical challenge facing the policy makers of developing countries is how to prioritize policies to achieve the interconnected goals of managing the health crisis, recovering the economy, and achieving environmental sustainability. We present a framework for identifying and prioritizing policy actions to address the COVID-19 challenges and ensure sustainable recovery. The framework outlines principles and criteria and provides insights into developing shared policy goals, identifying smart strategies, assessing policy compatibility, aligning policy instruments, and factoring sustainability into short and long-term policy decisions. This framework can assist policy makers in linking short and long-term goals, mapping the interactions of different policy options, and assessing anticipated consequences and cross-sectoral implications. This will enable policy makers to prioritize policy choices and allocate limited resources in such a way that they are directed toward actions that generate synergy and co-benefits, have multiplier effects, and achieve interconnected solutions for health, the economy and environment.