Healthy nature healthy people: 'contact with nature' as an upstream health promotion intervention for populations Maller, Cecily, Townsend, Mardie, Pryor, Anita, Brown, Peter and St Leger, Lawrence 2006, Healthy nature healthy people: 'contact with nature' as an upstream health promotion intervention for populations, Health promotion international, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 45-54, doi: 10.1093/heapro/dai032. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Healthy nature healthy people: 'contact with nature' as an upstream health promotion intervention for populations Author(s) Maller, Cecily Townsend, Mardie orcid.org/0000-0001-9885-946X Pryor, Anita Brown, Peter St Leger, Lawrence Journal name Health promotion international Volume number 21 Issue number 1 Start page 45 End page 54 Publisher Oxford Journals Place of publication Oxford, England Publication date 2006-03 ISSN 0957-4824 1460-2245 Keyword(s) nature health promotion mental health ecological health Summary Whilst urban-dwelling individuals who seek out parks and gardens appear to intuitively understand the personal health and well-being benefits arising from `contact with nature', public health strategies are yet to maximize the untapped resource nature provides, including the benefits of nature contact as an upstream health promotion intervention for populations. This paper presents a summary of empirical, theoretical and anecdotal evidence drawn from a literature review of the human health benefits of contact with nature. Initial findings indicate that nature plays a vital role in human health and well-being, and that parks and nature reserves play a significant role by providing access to nature for individuals. Implications suggest contact with nature may provide an effective population-wide strategy in prevention of mental ill health, with potential application for sub-populations, communities and individuals at higher risk of ill health. Recommendations include further investigation of `contact with nature' in population health, and examination of the benefits of nature-based interventions. To maximize use of `contact with nature' in the health promotion of populations, collaborative strategies between researchers and primary health, social services, urban planning and environmental management sectors are required. This approach offers not only an augmentation of existing health promotion and prevention activities, but provides the basis for a socio-ecological approach to public health that incorporates environmental sustainability. Notes Published online on December 22, 2005 Language eng DOI 10.1093/heapro/dai032 Field of Research 111712 Health Promotion Socio Economic Objective 970111 Expanding Knowledge in the Medical and Health Sciences HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Copyright notice ©2005, Oxford University Press Free to Read? Yes Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30003036 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Health School of Health and Social Development Open Access Collection Related Links Link Description Link to full-text (open access)   Connect to published version (restricted access) Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that permission has been obtained for items included in DRO. If you believe that your rights have been infringed by this repository, please contact drosupport@deakin.edu.au. Versions Version Filter Type Fri, 13 Sep 2013, 14:11:09 EST Fri, 13 Jun 2014, 22:57:52 EST Mon, 19 Jan 2015, 10:13:33 EST Wed, 06 Nov 2019, 15:35:48 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 632 times in TR Web of Science Cited 717 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 1230 Abstract Views, 0 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Mon, 07 Jul 2008, 08:41:31 EST