Exploring the health and well-being experiences in accessing gardens within a health care setting in Australia: the preliminary findings

There is growing evidence on the benefits to health care users from viewing or having direct contact with nature within these settings (e.g., Ulrich, 1984; Cooper Marcus and Barnes, 1995; Detweiler et al., 2008; Davis, 2011; Pasha, 2011). Increased urbanisation, growing hospital admissions and rising numbers of health care staff have made city hospitals an excellent setting to implement research in this globally acknowledged but under-explored area. This phenomenological study, the first of its kind in Australia, explored the experiences of 72 staff, patients and visitors who viewed or visited gardens at Austin Health's three city campuses in Victoria. The preliminiary findings indicated key psycho-physiological, symbolic, spiritual and social experiences. Additional findings indicated diverse 'opportunities' afforded by the gardens, experiences significant to Acquired Brain Injury patients, impacts on staff perceptions of the workplace, satisfaction and efficiency as well as barriers to access. Implications of the findings for inclusion of gardens in health care settings are explored.