Assessing the impact of blue and green spaces on mental health of disabled children: A scoping review
Exposure to blue and green space can reduce emotional, behavioral, and social problems in children with disabilities
Numerous studies show evidence of a link between exposure to blue and green space and children’s mental health. Such research, however, generally has not focused on children with disabilities as a specific subgroup. This research addressed this concern by conducting a systematic review of the literature focusing specifically on potential links between blue and green spaces and the mental health of children with various disabilities. Twenty studies were identified and reviewed. The included studies were conducted between 2010 and 2022, with most of them between 2018 and 2022.
The studies were conducted in eleven different countries, mostly in Europe. Five were conducted in the United States. Sample sizes ranged from 12 to approximately 945,000. While the age range of the included studies ranged from 3 – 29 years, all but three included children only. The three studies that included adults were chosen because they also included children.
Most of the studies focused primarily on the effect of green space exposure on the mental health of children with disabilities. Only one study focused on blue space (water environments). The overall results indicate that long-term exposure to blue and green space can reduce emotional, behavioral, and social problems in children with disabilities. The review found a lack of evidence of the same effects for short-term exposure. The results also provide evidence of natural environments reducing the risk of depression, anxiety, and ADHD and improving the social functioning of children with autism. In most of the studies, adjusting for socioeconomic confounders did not change the results.
This review highlights the need for more studies examining the impact of short-term exposure to green and blue environments on children with disabilities. The results also “call on urban planners, health care workers and decision makers to consider appropriate measures and interventions providing more blue and green space exposure to disabled children.”
Citation
Aghabozorgi, K., van der Jagt, A., Bell, S., Brown, C., (2023). Assessing the impact of blue and green spaces on mental health of disabled children: A scoping review. Health and Place, 84
