A systematic review of access to green spaces in healthcare facilities

This article describes experiences of users (staff, patients and visitors) who have had access to green spaces within an urban healthcare setting. A systematic mixed studies review was undertaken to review the quantitative and qualitative evidence on user experiences during passive/quasi passive access to green spaces within a healthcare setting, as well to review the methodological quality of the studies eligible for inclusion. A total of 24 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. User experiences were classified under three key themes on experiencing “control, choice, escape, privacy and autonomy” “opportunities for socialisation” and “engagement with and stimulation by nature”. The findings can be explained by theories of human-nature interaction and are likely to contribute towards generating convincing, credible and usable evidence on the topic. Cohesively, this article highlights the importance of incorporating green spaces into urban healthcare settings and contributes to the evidence base accessible to designers, planners, policy makers and hospital administrators who aim to create and support health promoting settings.