the research centre for inclusive access to outdoor environments edinburgh college of...
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The research centre for inclusive access to outdoor
environments
Edinburgh College of Art/Heriot-Watt University
OPENspace is concerned with access to the outdoor environment for everyone:
• for disabled people, • for people from ethnic
minorities, • for children and their
carers, • for older people and • for economically or
socially disadvantaged groups.
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Health and Outdoor Environments
Some fundamental questions we are interested in exploring:
• Are there any measurable health benefits associated with 'natural' environments?
• If so, is looking at images of them (or even just thinking about them) as beneficial as looking at the real thing from a window or actually being in the natural environment?
• How much nature is 'enough' to get a benefit?
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Health and Outdoor Environments
More fundamental questions we are interested in exploring:
• Are there any measurable health benefits to being (and doing things) outdoors rather than indoors?
• If so, what qualities of the outdoor environment are associated (best correlated) with health benefits?
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Can ‘nature’ affect clinical outcomes?
Comparing recovery records of gall bladder surgery patients with different bedside views (Ulrich, 1984)
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Bedside view of trees• Shorter hospital stays• Fewer minor post-op
complications • Fewer doses of strong
narcotic pain dugs needed
• More positive outlook (based on staff evaluation notes)
Bedside view of brick wall• Longer hospital stays• More minor complications
(e.g. persistent headaches, nausea)
• Needed more doses of narcotic pain drugs
• More negative outlook (based on staff evaluation notes)
Contributory Factors to General Well-being
• Mental Health
• Physical Health
• Spiritual Health
• Social Well Being
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Phase 1
Subjects watched a 10-minute film on the prevention of workplace accidents, which showed distressing scenes of (simulated) injury.
Phase 2
Subjects were told to imagine they were relaxing while looking at the environment on a film of:
trafficpedestrian mallnature
Stress Recovery Experiment R.Ulrich, 1991
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Hospital Study-NHS Journal, 2000
Two groups of patients in a) orthopaedic and b) psychiatric wards moved to newly refurbished units
• Old wards compared with New wards• Same treatment regimes/ same staff• Questionnaires to patients leaving hospital• Focus groups with staff• Medication levels/length of stay
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Results - NHS Journal, 2000Patients on newer wards rated the environment, their
treatment and the staff more positively
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Orthopaedic Unit• surgery - same length
stay• non-surgery - shorter
stay in hospital• fewer analgesics - in
number and dosage for class A drugs (morphine)
• slight increase in lower level pain-killing drugs
Psychiatric Unit• Shorter Stays (14%
reduction)• Less time in intensive
care• Fewer threats/outbursts• Better progress -79% v
60% made good progress
Healthy Outdoor Exercise
Walking the way to Health Initiative (WHI) of British Heart Foundation and Countryside Agency (started 2000.
• 50% of people participating in an exercise gym scheme drop out after 6 months
• The reason cited by 80% of cardiovascular patients for staying with the pilot walk programme was “being in the countryside or a green space”
• “It could be argued that the natural environment has a competitive edge in exercise promotion as it leads to better adherence” (WHI Regional Case Officer, 2002)
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Areas of potential interest 1
• Exercise, health and the environment– outdoor activity versus indoor activity– embodied experiences of exercising outdoors
• Stress and therapeutic environments– exercise– recreational activity– therapeutic environments
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Areas of potential interest 2
• Patient recovery and the environment– rehabilitation treatment of mental health patients– convalescence of hospital based patients
• Prescriptive measures and well-being– exercise as an alternative to medication
/hospitalisation for specific health problems– exercise and outdoor activities as a preventative
measure to sustain good health
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Does the environment matter?Environment
Quantitative• Air Quality• Ventilation/wind speed• Temperature• Sound levels• Illuminance
Qualitative• Light - sunshine/shade/cloud• Colour/Texture/Materials • Sounds (cars, birdsong)• Space/design• Nature - plant materials etc
Interactive• Privacy Control
People
Behaviour• Recovery rates• Number analgesics taken• Performance/actions/tasks
Psychological• Preferences• Perceptions• Moods• Satisfactions
Physiological• Heart rate/pulse rate/GSR
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Why might you want to collaborate with us?We have experience in eliciting people’s responses to outdoor
environments in ways that take into account the multivariate nature of such places
We have experience of the processes involved in design, management and analysis of outdoor places
Why might we want to collaborate with you?We want to study subjects in different (well-defined) prior states
of health
We want assistance to identify and apply appropriate measures of health benefit associated with being in different environments
We want to produce a robust experimental design
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