Natural England has published a series of “Access to Evidence” Information Notes on the links between the natural environment and human health.
These briefing notes summarise evidence of the relationships between the natural environment and a range of health outcomes: mental health, physical health, physiological health, and obesity.
As one example, the Information Note on mental health lists evidence of the impacts of (i) activity or time spent in natural environments, (ii) living near natural environments and (iii) the type or quality of natural environment. It also considers how impacts vary between different groups of people. For each of these, the note lists published research studies and provides a reference for each study.
Each note highlights some of the implications for future policy, service delivery and research. The series will be of interest to policy makers, practitioners, practice enablers, and local decision makers as well as researchers.
The author of the notes is Dr Rebecca Lovell of the European Centre for Environment and Human Health, and the University of Exeter Medical School.
The notes are available on the Natural England website, links below:
EIN016 Methods, Glossary and Evaluation Resources
EIN018 Links between natural environments and mental health
EIN019 Links between natural environments and physical activity
EIN020 Links between natural environments and physiological health