Addressing psychosocial issues caused by the COVID-19 lockdown: Can urban greeneries help?

Research on the site selection of emergency medical facilities from the perspective of country parks

Post-epidemic era, human society entered the stage of epidemic prevention and control normalized, emergency medical facilities are an important means of epidemic prevention and control, attention-needed can provide construction sites for emergency medical facilities. Disaster prevention and green space can provide construction sites for emergency medical facilities. In comparison, it was found that the site selection conditions of country parks and emergency medical facilities were more compatible. Based on the requirement of the latter's location, using the Delphi method and analytic hierarchy process, through to the country park type, effective safety area, space fragmentation, distance away from the water, in the wind, away from the city center distance, hydrogeology, eight factors such as traffic is quantitative, construct the evaluation system of emergency medical facility location. Taking Nanjing as an example, the Nanjing city region within the scope of the 43 country parks comprehensive comparison. Results show that green hill forest park, the highest scores in addition to the traffic time factor, the remaining seven factor score the highest, the most balanced distribution, security, scalability, rehabilitation, convenience, pollution prevention, and evacuation. It can be preferred as the site selection and construction target of emergency medical facilities. Besides, the Youzishan Forest Park and Dongkeng Country Park comprehensive scores and each factor score is higher, can be used as emergency preplan alternative goals. The score results indicate that the evaluation method for severity exhibits higher levels of differentiation, significant validity, and highly consistent assignment of impact factor weights. In view of the different regional land, impact factor weights assignment can be adjusted adjust measures to local conditions, to effectively make use of the existing conditions, avoid adverse factors.

Natural environments, psychosocial health, and health behaviors in a crisis - A scoping review of the literature in the COVID-19 context

The COVID-19 outbreak led to major restrictions globally, affecting people's psychosocial health and their health behaviors. Thus, the purpose of this scoping review was to summarize the available research regarding nature and health in the COVID-19 context. Keywords relating to natural environments and COVID-19 were combined to conduct a systematic online search in six major databases. Eligibility criteria were a) published since 2020 with data collected in the COVID-19 context b) peer-reviewed, c) original empirical data collected on human participants, d) investigated the association between natural environments and psychosocial health or health behaviors, and e) English, German, or Scandinavian languages. Out of 9126 articles being screened, we identified 188 relevant articles, representing 187 distinct studies. Most research focused on adults in the general population and was predominantly conducted in the USA, Europe, and China. Overall, the findings indicate that nature may mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on psychological health and physical activity. Through a systematic thematic analysis of the extracted data, three primary themes were identified: 1) type of nature assessed, 2) psychosocial health and health behaviors investigated, and 3) heterogeneity in the nature-health relationship. Research gaps in the COVID-19 context were identified regarding I) nature characteristics that promote psychosocial health and health behaviors, II) investigations of digital and virtual nature, III) psychological constructs relating to mental health promotion, IV) health-promoting behaviors other than physical activity, V) underlying mechanisms regarding heterogeneity in the nature-health relationship based on human, nature, and geographic characteristics, and VI) research focusing on vulnerable groups. Overall, natural environments demonstrate considerable potential in buffering the impact of stressful events on a population level on mental health. However, future research is warranted to fill the mentioned research gaps and to examine the long-term effects of nature exposure during COVID-19.

Examining the impact of urban compactness on work and social life disruption during COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from Jakarta, Indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit urban areas particularly hard, yet there is a lack of research on the hypothesis that living in more compact cities can provide better support for work and social conditions during the pandemic. This study addresses this gap by examining whether city compactness can mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on the work and social life of urban residents in Jakarta, Indonesia. The study uses a household phone survey combined with publicly available urban form data. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, supplemented with a matching technique to address potential selection bias, is employed. The results suggest that living in more compact locations can reduce the disruption to work and social life associated with COVID-19 in urban communities. This positive effect is particularly experienced by males, non-migrants, and individuals from wealthy families.

Alleviating mental health disorders through doses of green spaces: an updated review in times of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted issues due to mental health disorders, in particular the serious consequences derived from lockdown measures. This paper aims to analyse the literature on the potential direct impact of the natural environment on mental health disorders. We have systematically reviewed the studies analysing green spaces and mental health included in this review using PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Cochrane Library. A retrospective time-frame is considered, covering the COVID-19 pandemic. We have found that exposure to, use and proximity to green spaces have a beneficial impact on mental health among elderly, students and patients with underlying pathologies. However, it has negative effects on the mental health of women and young adults. Exposure to and interaction with the natural environment can improve certain mental health disorders and should be taken into account for strategies and policies related to future threats to public health.

Urban park use and self-reported physical, mental, and social health during the COVID-19 pandemic: An on-site survey in Beijing, China

The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for people's health. Studies have demonstrated the positive impact of urban green spaces, particularly urban parks, on physical and mental health. However, few studies have evaluated social health, which is a component of human health, and more understanding of the relationship between urban parks and human health during the COVID-19 pandemic is required. This study examined the effects of urban parks on people's health using a canonical correlation model. Physical, mental, and social health were the dependent health variables, and five factors related to urban parks were the independent variables. This study investigated 22 urban parks inside the Forth Ring Road in Beijing, China using a questionnaire survey. The results demonstrated a positive association between urban parks and human health during the pandemic. Distance to the parks, park area, and park size were positively correlated with physical, mental, and social health. Furthermore, frequency and duration of visits to urban parks were positively associated with mental health and contact with neighbors. The health effects of urban park use varied with park types and locations' urbanization background. These findings can provide insights for health-oriented urban park planning and construction.

The Feasibility and Impact of Practising Online Forest Bathing to Improve Anxiety, Rumination, Social Connection and Long-COVID Symptoms: A Pilot Study

BACKGROUND

Long-COVID affects over 144 million people globally. In the absence of treatments, there is a need to establish the efficacy of therapies that improve patient outcomes. Forest bathing has been demonstrated to improve physical and mental outcomes but there is no evidence in Long-COVID patients. Accordingly, this pilot study sought to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of online forest bathing in adults with Long-COVID.

METHODS

Feasibility was assessed by monitoring retention rates and participant feedback. In a waitlist controlled, repeated measures design, 22 Long-COVID patients completed weekly online surveys during a four-week waitlist control period, before engaging in four weekly online forest bathing sessions, completing post-intervention surveys following each session.

RESULTS

In terms of retention, 27% did not provide post-intervention data, reasons for non-adherence were: feeling too ill, having medical appointments, or having career responsibilities. Compared with the waitlist control period, there were statistically significant improvements in Anxiety (49% decrease), Rumination (48% decrease), Social Connection (78% increase), and Long-COVID symptoms (22% decrease). Written qualitative comments indicated that participants experienced feelings of calm and joy, felt more connected socially and with nature, and experienced a break from the pain and rumination surrounding their illness.

CONCLUSIONS

Online Forest bathing resulted in significant improvements in well-being and symptom severity and could be considered an accessible and inexpensive adjunct therapy for Long-COVID patients. Where people have limited access to in-person nature, virtual nature may offer an alternative to improve health and well-being outcomes.

Nature's contributions in coping with a pandemic in the 21st century: A narrative review of evidence during COVID-19

While COVID-19 lockdowns have slowed coronavirus transmission, such structural measures also have unintended consequences on mental and physical health. Growing evidence shows that exposure to the natural environment (e.g., blue-green spaces) can improve human health and wellbeing. In this narrative review, we synthesized the evidence about nature's contributions to health and wellbeing during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that during the pandemic, people experienced multiple types of nature, including both outdoors and indoors. Frequency of visits to outdoor natural areas (i.e., public parks) depended on lockdown severity and socio-cultural contexts. Other forms of nature exposure, such as spending time in private gardens and viewing outdoor greenery from windows, may have increased. The majority of the evidence suggests nature exposure during COVID-19 pandemic was associated with less depression, anxiety, stress, and more happiness and life satisfaction. Additionally, nature exposure was correlated with less physical inactivity and fewer sleep disturbances. Evidence was mixed regarding associations between nature exposure and COVID-related health outcomes, while nature visits might be associated with greater rates of COVID-19 transmission and mortality when proper social distancing measures were not maintained. Findings on whether nature exposure during lockdowns helped ameliorate health inequities by impacting the health of lower-socioeconomic populations more than their higher-socioeconomic counterparts for example were mixed. Based on these findings, we argue that nature exposure may have buffered the negative mental and behavioral impacts of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recovery and resilience during the current crises and future public health crises might be improved with nature-based infrastructure, interventions, designs, and governance.

Nature's contributions in coping with a pandemic in the 21st century: A narrative review of evidence during COVID-19

While COVID-19 lockdowns have slowed coronavirus transmission, such structural measures also have unintended consequences on mental and physical health. Growing evidence shows that exposure to the natural environment (e.g., blue-green spaces) can improve human health and wellbeing. In this narrative review, we synthesized the evidence about nature's contributions to health and wellbeing during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that during the pandemic, people experienced multiple types of nature, including both outdoors and indoors. Frequency of visits to outdoor natural areas (i.e., public parks) depended on lockdown severity and socio-cultural contexts. Other forms of nature exposure, such as spending time in private gardens and viewing outdoor greenery from windows, may have increased. The majority of the evidence suggests nature exposure during COVID-19 pandemic was associated with less depression, anxiety, stress, and more happiness and life satisfaction. Additionally, nature exposure was correlated with less physical inactivity and fewer sleep disturbances. Evidence was mixed regarding associations between nature exposure and COVID-related health outcomes, while nature visits might be associated with greater rates of COVID-19 transmission and mortality when proper social distancing measures were not maintained. Findings on whether nature exposure during lockdowns helped ameliorate health inequities by impacting the health of lower-socioeconomic populations more than their higher-socioeconomic counterparts for example were mixed. Based on these findings, we argue that nature exposure may have buffered the negative mental and behavioral impacts of lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recovery and resilience during the current crises and future public health crises might be improved with nature-based infrastructure, interventions, designs, and governance.

Interpolated Stand Properties of Urban Forest Parks Account for Posted Facial Expressions of Visitors

Posted facial expressions on social networks have been used as a gauge to assess the emotional perceptions of urban forest visitors. This approach may be limited by the randomness of visitor numbers and park locations, which may not be accounted for by the range of data in local tree inventories. Spatial interpolation can be used to predict stand characteristics and detect their relationship with posted facial expressions. Shaoguan was used as the study area where a tree inventory was used to extract data from 74 forest stands (each sized 30 m × 20 m), in which the range was increased by interpolating the stand characteristics of another 12 urban forest parks. Visitors smiled more in parks in regions with a high population or a large built-up area, where trees had strong trunks and dense canopies. People who displayed sad faces were more likely to visit parks located in regions of hilly mountains or farmlands, where soils had a greater total nitrogen concentration and organic matter. Our study illustrates a successful case in using data from a local tree inventory to predict stand characteristics of forest parks that attracted frequent visits.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Nature Walk as an Intervention for Anxiety and Depression

Scientific research has widely examined the therapeutic and health benefits of being in contact with natural environments. Nature walk have been proposed as a cost-effective and inclusive method for successfully exploiting nature for the promotion of health and well-being. Depression and anxiety symptoms have been shown to benefit from nature walk. Despite recent empirical findings published in the scientific literature, a summary quantitative work on the effect of nature walk on depression and anxiety does not yet exist. The present systematic review and meta-analysis quantitatively analyze and qualitatively discuss the studies published on the effect of nature walk on depression and anxiety published during the past decade. A database search as well as snowballing methods were used to retrieve eligible articles. The research question and literature search were based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Based on screening and retrieval processes, seven studies met the eligibility criteria and were then included in the quantitative meta-analysis. Risk of bias (RoB) analysis was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. After a qualitative evaluation of the studies, data from six experiments were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis show that nature walk effectively improve mental health. The findings were confirmed for the experiments reporting the quantitative data within groups (pre- and post-test) and between groups (experimental vs. control group).

Parks and the Pandemic: A Scoping Review of Research on Green Infrastructure Use and Health Outcomes during COVID-19

Green infrastructure (GI) has long been known to impact human health, and many academics have used past research to argue for the potential importance of GI as a mechanism for maintaining or improving health within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This scoping review addresses the question: What evidence, if any, have researchers found of a relationship between green infrastructure use and health during the COVID-19 pandemic? Specifically, evaluating the (a) association of GI use with COVID-19 disease outcomes and (b) association of GI use with other health outcomes as impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-two studies were identified that measured GI use and studied it in relation to health outcomes during the pandemic. The studies were reviewed for the specific measures and types of GI use, level of analysis, specific types of health outcomes, and the conclusions reached with regard to GI use and health. Studies exploring COVID-19-specific health outcomes showed mixed results, while non-COVID health outcomes were more consistently improved through GI use, particularly with regard to improved mental health. While the evidence strongly suggests that GI use has played a protective role in non-COVID-19 physical and mental health during the pandemic, questions remain with regard to possible impacts on COVID transmission and mortality.