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Active and Passive Use of Green Space, Health, and Well-Being amongst University Students.

ABSTRACT: Frequent exposure to green space has been linked to positive health and well-being in varying populations. Yet, there is still limited research exploring the restorative benefits associated with differing types of green space use among students living in the university setting. To address this gap, we explored green space use amongst a population of undergraduate students (n = 207) attending a university with abundant opportunities to access the restorative properties of nature. The purpose of this study was to examine the type and frequency of green space interactions that are most strongly associated with indicators of health and well-being, and investigate student characteristics associated with frequent use of green space. Results revealed that students who frequently engage with green spaces in active ways report higher quality of life, better overall mood, and lower perceived stress. Passive green space interactions were not strongly associated with indicators of health and well-being. Having had daily interactions with green space in childhood was associated with frequent green space use as a university student, and identified barriers to green space use included "not enough time," and "not aware of opportunities" These results could assist in the tailoring of "green exercise" interventions conducted in the university setting.

SUBMITTER: Holt EW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6388138 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Active and Passive Use of Green Space, Health, and Well-Being amongst University Students.

Holt Elizabeth W EW Lombard Quinn K QK Best Noelle N Smiley-Smith Sara S Quinn John E JE

International journal of environmental research and public health 20190201 3

Frequent exposure to green space has been linked to positive health and well-being in varying populations. Yet, there is still limited research exploring the restorative benefits associated with differing types of green space use among students living in the university setting. To address this gap, we explored green space use amongst a population of undergraduate students (n = 207) attending a university with abundant opportunities to access the restorative properties of nature. The purpose of t ...[more]

PMID: 30717193

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Project description:BackgroundPsychoeducation has the potential to support students experiencing distress and help meet the demand for support; however, there is a need to understand how these programs are experienced. Web-based diaries are a useful activity for psychoeducation because of their therapeutic benefits, ability to capture naturalistic data relevant to well-being, and appropriateness for text analysis methods.ObjectiveThis study aims to examine how university students use electronic diaries within a psychoeducation program designed to enhance mental well-being.MethodsThe Science of Happiness course was administered to 154 undergraduate students in a university setting (the United Kingdom). Diaries were collected from the students for 9 weeks. Baseline well-being data were collected using the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS). The percentage of negative and positive emotion words used in diaries (emotional tone) and use of words from five life domains (social, work, money, health, and leisure) were calculated using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count 2015 software. Random effects (generalized least squares) regression models were estimated to examine whether time, diary characteristics, demographics, and baseline well-being predict the emotional tone of diaries.ResultsA total of 149 students participated in the diary study, producing 1124 individual diary entries. Compliance with the diary task peaked in week 1 (n=1041, 92.62%) and was at its lowest in week 3 (n=807, 71.81%). Compared with week 1, diaries were significantly more positive in their emotional tone during week 5 (mean difference 23.90, 95% CI 16.89-30.90) and week 6 (mean difference 26.62, 95% CI 19.35-33.88) when students were tasked with writing about gratitude and their strengths. Across weeks, moderate and high baseline SWEMWBS scores were associated with a higher percentage of positive emotion words used in diaries (increases compared with students scoring low in SWEMWBS were 5.03, 95% CI 0.08-9.98 and 7.48, 95% CI 1.84-13.12, respectively). At week 1, the diaries of students with the highest levels of baseline well-being (82.92, 95% CI 73.08-92.76) were more emotionally positive on average than the diaries of students with the lowest levels of baseline well-being (59.38, 95% CI 51.02-67.73). Diaries largely focused on the use of social words. The emotional tone of diary entries was positively related to the use of leisure (3.56, 95% CI 2.28-4.85) and social words (0.74, 95% CI 0.21-1.27), and inversely related to the use of health words (-1.96, 95% CI -3.70 to -0.22).ConclusionsWe found evidence for short-term task-specific spikes in the emotional positivity of web-based diary entries and recommend future studies examine the possibility of long-term impacts on the writing and well-being of students. With student well-being strategies in mind, universities should value and encourage leisure and social activities.

Project description:IntroductionOver 30% of Canadians between the ages of 16 and 24 years attend university. This period of life coincides with the onset of common mental illnesses. Yet, data to inform university-based mental health prevention and early intervention initiatives are limited. The U-Flourish longitudinal study based out of Queen's University, Canada and involving Oxford University in the UK, is a student informed study funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Research Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (CIHR-SPOR). The primary goal of U-Flourish research is to examine the contribution of risk and resiliency factors to outcomes of well-being and academic success in first year students transitioning to university.Methods and analysisThe study is a longitudinal survey of all first-year undergraduate students entering Queen's University in the fall term of 2018 (and will launch at Oxford University in fall of 2019). In accordance with the CIHR-SPOR definitions, students represent the target population (ie, patient equivalent). Student peer health educators were recruited to inform the design, content and implementation of the study. Baseline surveys of Queen's first year students were completed in the fall of 2018, and follow-up surveys at the end of first year in the spring of 2019. Extensive student-led engagement campaigns were used to maximise participation rates. The baseline survey included measures of personal factors, family factors, environmental factors, psychological and emotional health, and lifestyle factors. Main outcomes include self-reported indicators of mental health at follow-up and mental health service access, as well as objective measures of academic success through linkage to university administrative and academic databases. A combination of mixed effects regression techniques will be employed to determine associations between baseline predictive factors and mental health and academic outcomes.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was obtained by the Health Sciences and Affiliated Teaching Hospitals Research Ethics Board (HSREB) (#6023126) at Queen's University. Findings will be disseminated through international and national peer-reviewed scientific articles and other channels including student-driven support and advocacy groups, newsletters and social media.

Dataset Information

Active and Passive Use of Green Space, Health, and Well-Being amongst University Students.

Publications

Active and Passive Use of Green Space, Health, and Well-Being amongst University Students.

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