Public greenspace and mental wellbeing among mid-older aged adults: Findings from the HABITAT longitudinal study.

Alison Carver; Jerome N Rachele; Takemi Sugiyama; Billie-Giles Corti; Nicola W Burton; Gavin Turrell
Abstract
We explored temporal associations between public greenspace and adults' mental wellbeing. Participants (n = 5,906) aged 40-65 years at baseline had data at >2 post-baseline waves of HABITAT, a multilevel longitudinal study (2007-16) in Brisbane, Australia. Participants self-reported mental wellbeing (short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale) and neighbourhood self-selection reasons at Waves 2-5 (2009-11-13-16). We examined associations between Δgreenspace (within 1 km of home) and Δmental wellbeing using a linear fixed effects model, adjusting for time-varying confounders. Mental wellbeing increased (β = 1.75; 95% Confidence Interval:0.25-3.26) with greenspace exposure, adjusting for self-selection. Urban planning and policy initiatives to increase public greenspace may benefit mental wellbeing.
Journal HEALTH & PLACE
ISSN 1873-2054
Published 19 Jul 2024
Volume 89
Issue
Pages 103311
DOI 10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103311
Type Journal Article
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