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Is greenery associated with mental health among residents of aged care facilities? A systematic search and narrative review
Carver, Alison Lorenzon, Alanna Veitch, Jenny MacLeod, Ashley Sugiyama, Takemi
Carver, Alison
Lorenzon, Alanna
Veitch, Jenny
MacLeod, Ashley
Sugiyama, Takemi
Abstract
Objectives: Older adults living in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) may be vulnerable to mental health issues. Evidence suggests greenery is beneficial for adults’ mental health in community settings. This review aims to summarise evidence of associations between greenery in RACFs and residents’ mental health. Method: Six databases were searched with three sets of terms related to: (1) exposure (e.g. garden, green); (2) outcome (e.g. mental health, well-being); and (3) setting (e.g. aged care, nursing home). The inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed journal articles published in English up to 2017, reporting quantitative/qualitative associations between greenery and mental health in RACFs. Results: Of the nine articles identified, seven reported positive associations between greenery (in particular, garden use) at RACFs and some aspect of residents’ mental well-being (e.g. quality of life); however, four out of seven studies used observations and perceptions of staff and relatives. One study examined depression and reported reduction in depression following garden use, while one examined physiological indicators of stress (blood pressure, heart rate) and found no association with garden use. Seven studies examined garden use and four examined the presence of greenery (two examined both exposures). Conclusion: Exposure to greenery and use of greenspace in RACFs show promise for promoting mental health. However, the findings relied mainly on non-validated measures of mental health. More robust evidence based on valid and reliable mental health measures is needed. Future studies also need to examine the effect of visual exposure to greenery and the effect of greenery on stress reduction.
Keywords
Residential care, greenspace, garden, mental well-being, depression
Date
2020
Type
Journal article
Journal
Aging and Mental Health
Book
Volume
24
Issue
1
Page Range
1-7
Article Number
ACU Department
Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as green open access
License
File Access
Controlled
Open
Open
Notes
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Aging and Mental Health on 15 Nov 2018, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13607863.2018.1516193