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Associations between use, activities and characteristics of the outdoor environment at workplaces
... They allow reducing the level of stress and the complaints about health (Largo-Wight et al., 2011;. Furthermore, they provide spaces for employees to relax, meet colleagues, have lunch, or observe nature (Serret et al. 2014c, in prep;Lottrup et al, 2012). ...
... Cette appréciation par opposition aux espaces construits minéraux est souvent évoquée dans la littérature . Cette -« Prendre le soleil », cette catégorie a également été observée par Lottrup et al. (2012). ...
... -« Déjeuner », cette catégorie d'activité est assez répandue dans les espaces verts d'entreprise (Lottrup et al. 2012). Ainsi, certaines personnes profitent de l'espace vert pour déjeuner à l'extérieur : « je mange un sandwich », « j'y mange le midi ». ...
Thèse de doctorat, réalisée au Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (Laboratoire CESCO), financée par ARP-Astrance
... Research on the benefits of exposure to nature in the workplace context has, however, tended to focus on views and other aspects of the indoor working environment, with few studies addressing the impacts of use of workplace greenspace on employee wellbeing. Lottrup et al. (2012) examined employees' use of greenspace at knowledge-sector workplaces in Denmark, finding no associations between the frequency of use of such spaces and outcomes such as selfreported health, job satisfaction or employees' evaluations of their work performance. In contrast, other studies have found evidence outdoor contact with nature at work ( Largo-Wight et al., 2011) and opportunities for physical access to a garden at the workplace, as opposed to only visual access or no access at all ( Lottrup et al., 2013a), are negatively related to self-reported stress levels. ...
... Understanding of the differential effects of window views of greenspace versus immersive experiences in green environments at the workplace is therefore limited. Also, as both types of exposure could provide opportunities for restoration, examining either without controlling for the other could lead to omitted variable bias, resulting in a masking of the true effect of the single greenspace variable being tested ( Lottrup et al., 2012). ...
... Whilst spending more time outdoors in greenspace during the working day related to higher wellbeing, there was no such evidence of a positive effect of more frequent use. This may help to explain the seemingly contradictory findings of previous research, where positive associations between wellbeing outcomes and individuals' opportunities to access workplace greenspace have been demonstrated ( Lottrup et al., 2013a), yet no significant associations between actual levels of use and wellbeing outcomes observed, where use was measured only in terms of frequency ( Lottrup et al., 2012). This finding may suggest that to promote cumulative wellbeing benefits from use of workplace greenspace, interventions should focus on encouraging workers to spend more time outdoors as one or two relatively prolonged visits each week may be more beneficial than very brief daily visits. ...
Low density business developments are a near ubiquitous feature of peri-urban landscapes in the UK and in other developed countries, however little is known about how workers relate to open space in this particular type of working environment. Person–environment relationships in five urban fringe science parks in central Scotland were investigated through a survey of employees (N = 366). Specifically, the study sought to explore the impact of viewing and using greenspace at these knowledge-sector workplaces on employee wellbeing. The results of a series of multiple regression analyses indicated that both use of the open space and views of some vegetation types, namely trees, lawn and shrubs or flowering plants, were positively and independently associated with self-reported wellbeing levels. This research provides new insight into the extent to which workplace greenspace contributes to employee wellbeing, whilst controlling for exposure to greenspace outside of the workplace context. Also, by investigating relationships between wellbeing and the particular physical features seen in views, the research provides evidence on how workplaces might be designed to incorporate restorative window views. These findings have relevance both for the planning and design of peri-urban business sites and for the design of interventions to promote employee wellbeing.
... The view is a part of the immediate working environment that meets the employee continuously, in contrast to physical access, such as a walk, which is usually limited to breaks during the workday. Recent studies have shown that the majority of office workers do not spend time outside during the work day, which is mainly due to a perception of being too busy to go outdoors and a working culture that rarely includes outdoor activities (Hitchings, 2010; Lottrup, Stigsdotter, Meilby, & Corazon, 2012). The window view can be understood as a micro-restorative setting (Kaplan, 2001) as it provides opportunities for micro-breaks whenever one's attention is drawn by the view. ...
... In order to generate the largest possible amount of information on the potential use of green outdoor environments in workplace settings, two selection criteria were that the employees at the companies had to have physical and/or visual access to rich green natural outdoor environments, and the outdoor environment had to be used by the employees. Furthermore, the companies had to vary with respect to degrees and ways of being green (for findings on outdoor environment use, see Lottrup et al., 2012). Other selection criteria were that the companies had to be similar with respect to number of employees, production and organisation. ...
... The data presented in this article are part of a larger dataset including data on use of the outdoor environment at workplaces, and encouragement and impediments to going outdoors during the working day (these data are presented in Lottrup et al., 2012). A strength of this study is that it includes data from six companies, which makes it possible to adjust the results for the influence of the specific companies. ...
Office workers’ job satisfaction and ability to work are two important factors for the viability and competitiveness of most companies, and existing studies in contexts other than workplaces show relationships between a view of natural elements and, for example, student performance and neighbourhood satisfaction. This study investigates whether relationships between window view, and work ability and job satisfaction also exist in the context of the workplace by focusing on office workers’ view satisfaction. The results showed that a view of natural elements was related to high view satisfaction, and that high view satisfaction was related to high work ability and high job satisfaction. Furthermore, the results indicated that job satisfaction mediated the effect of view satisfaction on work ability. These findings show that a view of a green outdoor environment at the workplace can be an important asset in workforce work ability and job satisfaction.
... The majority of the literature on greenspace and health and well-being outcomes focuses on home and recreational environments, with relatively few studies having investigated wellbeing benefits of greenspace in the context of the workplace. Although many workers may spend more of their weekday waking hours at their workplace than at home, relatively little is known about individuals' engagement with greenspace during the working day (Lottrup, Stigsdotter, Meilby, & Sola Corazon, 2012). There is evidence to suggest that use of workplace greenspace is positively associated with employee well-being (Gilchrist, Brown, & Montarzino, 2015) and that greenspace access and outdoor nature contact at work are associated with lower stress levels (Largo-Wight, Chen, Dodd, & Weiler, 2011;Lottrup, Grahn, & Stigsdotter, 2013). ...
... However, to capitalize on the potential benefits of outdoor experience of green environments at the workplace, it is first necessary for workers to take advantage of opportunities to access greenspace resources available to them. Rather few studies to date have investigated the extent to which employees use available greenspace at or nearby their workplace, or the factors associated with use of greenspace in the work domain (Lottrup et al., 2012). ...
... With respect to the summer months, no gender differences in use levels were detected. This gender effect of lower greenspace use by women is consistent with previous studies in the workplace context (Lottrup et al., 2012) and elsewhere (see, for example, review by Lee & Maheswaran, 2010); however, potential seasonal differences in this effect have not previously been considered. It is not clear why a gender difference was seen only with respect to winter use, and potential seasonal effects on use patterns across different demographic groups have received little attention in the literature. ...
Growing evidence suggests that work breaks in greenspace may promote the well-being of knowledge-sector workers, yet understanding of person–environment interactions in relation to the outdoor setting of workplaces is underdeveloped. This study investigated relationships between individual factors and both employees’ use of workplace greenspace and the restoration outcomes they experienced from outdoor work breaks, through a questionnaire survey (N = 366) of employees at five urban-fringe science park business sites. A series of regression models suggested that job stress was positively related to levels of greenspace use and restoration benefits; however, the restoration reported by users varied depending on the social context of use. At the same time, key groups less engaged with the greenspace were identified. Finally, the analysis suggests that although some work-related factors may influence person–environment interactions in this context, individuals’ relationship with greenspace appears to transcend the domains of work and home/leisure to a large degree.
... Detta har inneburit att jag har sållat bort två av de sju lästa artiklarna, då de framför allt innehöll resultat som handlade om innehållet i utemiljön, och inte effekten på de anställda. Detta har gjort att Kaplan (2007) och Lottrup et al. (2012) inte finns med i resultatdelen. Angående Lottrup et al. (2012) kan kort nämnas att de fick endast fram svaga korrelationer mellan tillgången på grönska och den anställdes hälsa och välbefinnande. ...
... Detta har gjort att Kaplan (2007) och Lottrup et al. (2012) inte finns med i resultatdelen. Angående Lottrup et al. (2012) kan kort nämnas att de fick endast fram svaga korrelationer mellan tillgången på grönska och den anställdes hälsa och välbefinnande. Detta, enligt artikeln, p.g.a. ...
... Förutom för att slappna av användes trädgårdarna framför allt för att äta lunch och prata med kollegor. I Lottrup et al. (2012) anges den vanligaste anledningen vara att äta lunch utomhus, och andra viktiga saker är sociala aktiviter och att njuta av naturen. Cooper Marcus & Barnes (1995) drar slutsatsen att anställda, såväl som patienter och besökare, kommer medvetet till trädgårdearna för att må bättre. ...
... However, this kind of place is privately owned, and it is not open and accessible to all users thereof. In the other side, the term is not similar to an open plan concept, which is related to the interior design of buildings), both built and natural, can have a beneficial effect on reducing the SL and improving health outcomes [10][11][12][13][14][15]. ...
... They additionally suggest that workplace greenery and access to open space and green environment can have a beneficial effect on the WPS and attitude, especially amongst female workers. Despite these possible benefits, studies show that the vast majority of employees do not use open space during working hours, due to lack of time or lack of habit [12,19]. ...
... Questionnaire results considering the effects of spatial characteristics of open space inside WPE indicate that employees prefer natural over built characteristics. Natural spatial characteristics in the open space are far more important for its calming effects than built ones, which is well-stressed in general literature [4][5][6]8,[10][11][12][13]15,16,23,30,33,34,39,41,53]. Considering WPE there is far less research on this topic, but all the existing research supports these assumptions [4,7,9,12,13,18,23,25,30], as well as the results of this research, regarding the specific WPE. ...
Working people spend around 54% of their waking hours at a workplace, according to recent statistics. Work-related stress is unavoidable, and it can damage the health of employees and affect business performance. In this paper, we argue that open space inside the workplace environment can have a positive influence on reducing overall stress levels in all the categories of users. To our knowledge, there is a significant lack of research considering specific business districts and the gated complexes called business parks, especially in post-socialist Eastern European cities, where there they are still a novelty. Empirical research in this study is on the single case study of Business Park “Airport city” in Belgrade, Serbia. Its main focus is on the survey conducted with 235 participants based on a questionnaire, which examines the relation between workplace stress and workplace environments. The findings from the questionnaire show that the frequency, duration, and activity of open space usage influence the stress levels of employees in this specific workplace, while it is not visible relating to their age and gender. Additionally, final implications suggest that improved open space, such as well-expected greenery, but also the urban design non-associative to workspace and the socialization and exercise amenities customized for frequent and short work breaks, can facilitate the overall well-being of employees. They are innovative elements in relatively underdeveloped research on stress measures with open space usage characteristics in the specific (gated) workplace setting.
... Stigsdotter and Grahn found that rest activities could be connected with 'nature' [6]. Lottrup et al. showed that employees preferred 'serene' green spaces for rest and body activities, and 'refuge' and 'space' for sun-bathing activities in their work places [31]. Although certain relationships were identified in previous studies, the triangular associations among the eight perceived sensory dimensions, recreational activity and mental stress have not been fully examined in Chinese urban environmental settings. ...
... This is largely consistent with findings in another study of urban green spaces in the Chinese context [35], which concluded that the selections of recreational activities among different age groups were likely to explain these differences. Different aged groups often gravitate to different activities based on their perceptions of and preferences for a site [31]. Although the level of stress had less significant influence on the perception of the eight sensory dimensions in all of the habitats, it still showed a significant difference in Habitat D. Compared with the "no to medium" stress group, the highest stressed group had more experience of the serene sensory dimension and less of the prospect in Habitat D. The specific characteristics of the site are likely to explain these differences. ...
Several studies have revealed the positive effects of green space and certain activities on counteracting the physical and mental pressure felt by human beings. However, how self-reported stressed people perceive restorative green spaces, their preferences for specific characteristics and activities, and what characteristics of urban green space can induce various types of activities for stress recovery has not been fully examined in the high-density cities of China. Using an on-site questionnaire survey conducted in the People’s Park (PP) in Baoji, China, this study is the first to consider the relationship among eight sensory dimensions, activity types and stress recovery in Chinese green space. Results showed that the highest-stressed respondents were more likely to spend their time in multi-layered woodlands adjacent to water, with more experiences of serene but less about prospect. They preferred serene dimension more, while the culture and social dimensions were least preferred. Sports and leisure activities and quiet activities were the most popular among highest-stressed respondents, which were positively related to the serene and nature dimensions, respectively. Results suggested that the most restorative environment for stress recovery can be regarded as multi-layered woodlands adjacent to water with more serene and nature, less prospect and few or no culture and social dimensions.
... However, the few that have indicate that access, either visual or physical, to such environments during the working day is related to increased health (Kaplan, 1993), wellbeing (Hernandez, 2007; Kaplan, 1993; Leather, Pyrgas, Beale, & Lawrence, 1998), job satisfaction (Kaplan, Bardwell, Ford, & Kaplan, 1996; Kaplan, 1993; Leather et al., 1998; Shin, 2007) and work performance (Kaplan et al., 1996; Pati, Harvey, & Barach, 2008), and to decreased perceived levels of stress (Pati et al., 2008; Shin, 2007 ). Recent studies show that, despite the potential benefits, the majority of office workers do not go outdoors during the working day, mainly due to a perception of being too busy and a working culture that does not include outdoor behavior (Hitchings, 2010; Lottrup, Stigsdotter, Meilby, & Corazon, 2012). The above-mentioned studies show that access to a green outdoor environment at the workplace is beneficial on a personal and organizational level, and this study intends to address the relationship between access to workplace outdoor environments and employees' level of stress as well as their overall attitude toward their workplace. ...
... However, these studies only include female respondents (Pati et al., 2008), or find no difference with respect to gender (Shin, 2007). A study, which addressed the use of workplace outdoor environments, found that more men than women went outdoors during the working day, and that women reported 'being too busy' as an impediment to going outdoors far more often than men (Lottrup et al., 2012). This indicates a gender difference in exposure to greenness during the working day, although the results need to be validated in future studies. ...
Dealing with stress and stress-related diseases is an increasing problem in both developed and developing countries and has an enormous cost for individuals, companies, and societies. A positive relationship between access to a green outdoor environment at work, and decreased stress has been found in previous studies, and this relationship is in line with a vast body of research in other contexts. The aim of this study is to investigate whether access to a green outdoor environment at work is related to employees' perceived level of stress and attitude toward the workplace. The study is based on data from a questionnaire answered by 439 randomly selected individuals in Sweden. The questionnaire addressed the respondents' level of stress and workplace attitude, and the characteristics and accessibility of the outdoor environment at the respondents' workplace. The results showed significant relationships between physical and visual access to workplace greenery, and a positive workplace attitude and decreased level of stress for male respondents. For female respondents, a significant relationship between physical and visual access to workplace greenery and a positive workplace attitude was found, but not between access to workplace greenery and level of stress. Furthermore, a positive workplace attitude was related to decreased levels of stress for female respondents, but not for male respondents. These findings support existing research which suggests that the workplace outdoor environment is an asset for employees' wellbeing and level of stress, and they indicate that gender plays a central role in realizing the benefits of such environments.
... Therefore, factors promoting a more balanced access to urban nature among all user groups regardless of income and marginalisation merit further research to increase the acceptance for outdoor activity participation. Overall, the studies reported a greater percentage of female respondents (54 %) compared to male (39 %); and highlighted the potential of gender differences in environmental preferences (Nordh et al., 2011) or in willingness to use outdoor environments (Lottrup et al., 2012) among the pocket park users. According to Praveena et al. (2020), both the male and female respondents in Kuala Lumpur have similar motives of using the pocket parks; however, of the 30 respondents (7.7 %) that use the pocket parks as an 'easiest access to nature', 22 (73.3 %) are female. ...
... The most frequently mentioned user preference contributing to high ratings on restoration likelihood were: 'a lot of grass' followed by 'a lot of flowers/plants' and 'water features'; while 'a lot of traffic', 'a lot of hard surfaces' and 'poorly shielded from the surroundings' were the three most commonly described categories giving low ratings on restoration likelihood (Nordh and Ostby, 2013). On the contrary, although the pocket parks in Kuala Lumpur are located at high traffic streets, the respondents could still use the pocket parks 'to rest and reduce stress' (Praveena et al., 2020); supporting the claims by Kaplan (1993) and Lottrup et al. (2012) that the availability of the natural environment close to workplace can foster positive impact with respect to well-being. Peschardt et al. (2012) reported a different pattern in the use of pocket parks compared to larger urban green spaces in Copenhagen as the park users were found to have travelled quite far for the pocket parks or lived quite far from the parks. ...
This paper presents a summary of empirical evidence drawn from a literature review on the factors contributing to people using the pocket parks. Initial findings indicate that pocket parks play a significant role by providing access to nature for individuals living in urban areas. This paper provides an evidence-based approach to the usage and benefits of pocket parks by applying the SE-Model approach. This review includes 15 papers on pocket parks, obtained from electronic journal databases such as Scopus, Science Direct, Springer Link, SAGE Journals and Google Scholar sort by relevance containing key words such as pocket parks, vest-pocket parks, small public urban green space, small urban parks, use as well as usage of pocket parks. Selection was restricted to peer-reviewed publications related to pocket parks usage. The authors analysed these literatures for its sample characteristics, data collection, sampling method, data analysis and the main study finding. This review reveals an increase in research on the usage of pocket parks published in peer-reviewed journals in the recent years and a strong geographic bias. The selected studies have consistently reported on the importance of pocket parks for mental well-being, predominantly, followed by social benefits, however limited study approached the potential of pocket parks for physical activities. Physical components (green ground cover, bushes, trees, flower beds, water features) and Perceived Environment (preference for greener view; calm atmosphere; safety) are mostly reported to be highly associated with human health.
... This is quite common even with other studies abroad on pocket parks (Nordh et al., 2009;Maas et al., 2009;Baur & Tynon, 2010;Nordh et al., 2011;Peschardt et al., 2012). This shows the importance of these green spaces in urban cities where people visit in order to get away from their daily work or routine and become engaged with greenery and other natural features (Kaplan et al., 1998;Nordh et al., 2009Nordh et al., , 2011Peschardt and Stigsdotter, 2013;Lottrup et al., 2012;Mesimäki et al., 2019). Respondents also use the pocket parks 'to take shortcut' (22.3 %) to move to other destinations. ...
... One question that emerges in relation to this point is that although the traffic in proximity to park was reported to have negative affect on the soundscape of a park (Lam et al., 2005), the respondents in Kuala Lumpur could still use the pocket parks to rest and reduce stress. To further support this finding, the availability of the natural environment close to workplace can foster positive impact with respect to well-being (Kaplan, 1993;Lottrup et al., 2012). 'Lunch breaks walk' as well as relaxation exercises is likely to play an important role in daily job stress recovery (Torrente et al., 2017;de Bloom et al., 2017). ...
This study aims to provide an overview of the pocket parks in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur while identifying the characteristics of the pocket parks associated with the visitation and usage. This study also intends to identify the constraints that limit the use of pocket parks according to Malaysia context. A survey conducted among N=363 respondents consisting of pocket parks users and non-users are presented and discussed. Overall the pocket parks in Kuala Lumpur are used by the respondents to rest and reduce stress. This study concluded that slightly more women use the pocket parks than men and lack of time was the main constraint that limited the use of pocket parks in Kuala Lumpur. A higher majority of respondents also cited their willingness to use the pocket parks more often if changes were implemented to make the pocket park safer and more facilities were provided. The findings contribute to an understanding of the factors that influence the usability pattern and constraints that limit the usage of pocket parks in Kuala Lumpur. Further, a well-managed and maintained pocket park would create opportunities for all segments of the urban community to use the parks more often.
... This also emphasizes the high need for a restorative experience in relation to a busy working life (Peschardt et al., 2012). This finding is also in line with previous research on the importance of green environments in relation to workplaces (Lottrup, Stigsdotter, Meilby, & Corazon, 2012). 'Rest and restitution' is the primary use both before and after the redesign. ...
The use of urban green environments has repeatedly been associated with improved
health and well-being for people living in cities. This study focuses on the health
promoting potential of pocket parks in the dense city area of Copenhagen. A natural
experiment was conducted, which evaluated one pocket park, Dantes Plads, before and
after a redesign. Six people were interviewed about their perception of the change. First
of all, the results show that Dantes Plads is primarily used for ‘rest and restitution’.
Furthermore, the interviewees prefer to have the presence of sun, shade and planting in
relation to rest and restitution, while varied ‘terrain’ may create fascination thereby
providing the opportunity for restoration. ‘Noise level’ is perceived differently from
subject to subject, while ‘benches’ as well as ‘visual angels’ should not be oriented
directly towards disturbing surroundings. The findings add to existing knowledge on the
design of health promoting pocket parks for ‘rest and restitution’ in dense city areas.
... Those easily accessible public spaces enable citizens to stay in the open near their homes and workplaces. Lottrup et al. (2012) have emphasized that the improvement of the workplace outdoor environment could upgrade employees' social networking, have a positive influence on their physical activity and expand opportunities to recuperate from mentally demanding work tasks. ...
Urban pockets, although an integral part of the urban environment, often fall into the urban vacant land category. This paper aims to point out the diversity of urban pockets through their categorization, explore the ways of urban pockets’ integration into urban green infrastructure planning, and indicate the potential achievable uses of urban pockets. Six types of urban pockets in Novi Sad (Serbia) were noted and three different yet not mutually exclusive perspectives on urban pockets’ revitalization – productive, cultural and social – were proposed. This study could serve as a basis for the integration of urban pockets into urban planning theory and planning practices and as an inspiration for urban planners, landscape architects and policy-makers to create strategies for urban pockets’ utilization.
... This article focused on a handful of basic design interventions to improve staff break areas, including access to nature, daylight, and fresh air. These design features were chosen because of their relative simplicity and strong evidence regarding the effectiveness of these environmental features in other work settings (Aries, Veitch, & Newsham, 2010;Kaplan, 1993;Lottrup, Stigsdotter, Meilby, & Claudi, 2015;Lottrup, Stigsdotter, Meilby, & Corazon, 2012). This article also considered the relative effectiveness of full-physical access to the outdoors versus merely visual access through windows. ...
The nursing profession in the United States is on the precipice of a crisis. Nurses are essential to the health care industry, and maintaining quality nursing care is a primary concern of today’s health care managers. Health care facilities report high rates of staff burnout and turnover, and interest in the nursing profession among younger students is declining. Health care leaders must improve nurses’ job satisfaction, performance, and retention. However, they often overlook the need for nurses’ respite and underestimate the value of well-designed staff break areas. An exhaustive and systematic literature search was conducted in the summer of 2014, and all studies found on the topic were reviewed for their relevance and quality of evidence. The existing literature about the main causes of nurses’ fatigue, barriers that prevent nurses from taking restorative breaks, and consequences of nurses’ fatigue for staff, patient, and facility outcomes demonstrates the pressing need for interventions that improve nurses’ working conditions. Additional literature on the restorative effects of breaks and the value of well-designed break areas indicates that efforts to improve breakroom design can play an important role in improving nurses’ job satisfaction and performance.
... The fact that women are less likely to visit pocket parks for 'rest and restitution' may be related to time issues. First of all, women often feel that they are 'too busy' to go outdoors (Lottrup, Stigsdotter, Meilby, & Corazon, 2012;Hitchings, 2010). And second women report higher stress-levels than men , and younger women with children, in particular, report high stress levels (Stigsdotter & Grahn, 2011;Nielsen, Curtis, Kristensen, & Rod Nielsen, 2008) so they may not feel like they have the time to visit pocket parks for 'rest and restitution'. ...
The densification of cities has led to a change in the way people live in the industrialised world. Sedentary work and physical inactivity may be related to the increasing prevalence of life style diseases such as obesity, diabetes II and stress related illnesses. A number of studies have suggested that urban green space (UGS) can have a positive effect on human health. However, the various types of UGS may support different types of use and may have different effects on health. Especially the role of pocket parks is unknown. The main hypothesis of this thesis is that pocket parks are a latent resource in promoting human health in dense city areas. Nine pocket parks in Copenhagen were investigated. In study I, the use and users of the pocket parks were studied based on an on-site questionnaire survey and observations. In study II, the association between the users’ perceived restorativeness (measured on the perceived restorativeness scale, PRS) and the characteristics of the pocket parks (the perceived sensory dimensions, PSD) were investigated. In this relation, the preference for the PDS´s were identified for users who reported average levels of stress and for the 25% who reported high levels of stress. Study III investigated how a number of specific features within the pocket parks were related to the two most preferred types of use. Finally, study IV investigated users’ perceptions of a pocket park before and after a redesign. The results of study I show that the main reasons for using the pocket parks are ‘socialising’ and ‘rest and restitution’. Factors such as distance from home, distance travelled and the context in which the users use the pocket parks influence frequency of use and the reason for use. Study II shows that also pocket parks with a limited amount of greenery may have restorative potential. The results of study II furthermore show that users with an average level of stress prefer the PSDs ‘social’ and ‘serene,’ but for the 25% most stressed users ‘nature’ becomes important in addition to ‘social’ and ‘serene’. The results of study III show that for the type of use called ‘socialising’ in pocket parks, it is important to include features which support the possibility of gathering, which may enhance the feeling of belonging to a certain space. Green surroundings are preferred for the type of use called ‘rest and restitution,’ and especially enclosed niches where people can feel safe and undisturbed are preferred. The findings from study IV add to the findings from study III with increased knowledge on features supporting ‘rest and restitution’. Especially variation in terrain and plantings as well as the experience of sun, shade and lights are important for ‘rest and restitution’. The results of this thesis add valuable knowledge to the existing research on UGS. It may be useful in future planning processes, thereby contributing to increase health promoting UGS in dense city areas.
... The gender differences in temperature effects on ER visits revealed that male patients are at a higher risk of accidental casualties in high temperature conditions, which may be associated with more activities (sports) that they participate in and more occupational exposure to high temperatures of men [39]. Several researchers have reported that gender differences do exist when people join outdoor physical activities [40][41][42]. Furthermore, it is known that the division of labor for males and females in a family is always distinct. ...
Emergency room (ER) visits for accidental casualties, according to the International Classification of Deceases 10th Revision Chapters 19 and 20, include injury, poisoning, and external causes (IPEC). Annual distribution of 187,008 ER visits that took place between 2009 and 2011 in Beijing, China displayed regularity rather than random characteristics. The annual cycle from the Fourier series fitting of the number of ER visits was found to explain 63.2% of its total variance. In this study, the possible effect and regulation of meteorological conditions on these ER visits are investigated through the use of correlation analysis, as well as statistical modeling by using the Distributed Lag Non-linear Model and Generalized Additive Model. Correlation analysis indicated that meteorological variables that positively correlated with temperature have a positive relationship with the number of ER visits, and vice versa. The temperature metrics of maximum, minimum, and mean temperatures were found to have similar overall impacts, including both the direct impact on human mental/physical conditions and indirect impact on human behavior. The lag analysis indicated that the overall impacts of temperatures higher than the 50th percentile on ER visits occur immediately, whereas low temperatures show protective effects in the first few days. Accidental casualties happen more frequently on warm days when the mean temperature is higher than 14 • C than on cold days. Mean temperatures of around 26 • C result in the greatest possibility of ER visits for accidental casualties. In addition, males were found to face a higher risk of accidental casualties than females at high temperatures. Therefore, the IPEC-classified ER visits are not pure accidents; instead, they are associated closely with meteorological conditions, especially temperature.
... de Jong et al. indicated that identifying susceptible subgroups of the general population is also all-important from a public health perspective, e.g., exposure limits may be determined according to the most susceptible subgroups in the population in China (de Jong et al. 2016). In addition, prior studies have revealed that there are large differences in time of outdoor activities and work and body structures between females and males (Lottrup et al. 2012;Shultz et al. 2008). Association of air pollution with some cancer risk, including kidney, bladder, and colorectal, appear to be limited to men, with little or no evidence of association in women (Turner et al. 2017). ...
Outdoor air pollution may be associated with cancer risk at different sites. This study sought to investigate outdoor air pollution from waste gas emission effects on multiple cancer incidences in a retrospective population-based study in Shanghai, China. Trends in cancer incidence for males and females and trends in waste gas emissions for the total waste gas, industrial waste gas, other waste gas, SO2, and soot were investigated between 1983 and 2010 in Shanghai, China. Regression models after adjusting for confounding variables were constructed to estimate associations between waste gas emissions and multiple cancer incidences in the whole group and stratified by sex, Engel coefficient, life expectancy, and number of doctors per 10,000 populations to further explore whether changes of waste gas emissions were associated with multiple cancer incidences. More than 550,000 new cancer patients were enrolled and reviewed. Upward trends in multiple cancer incidences for males and females and in waste gas emissions were observed from 1983 to 2010 in Shanghai, China. Waste gas emissions came mainly from industrial waste gas. Waste gas emissions was significantly positively associated with cancer incidence of salivary gland, small intestine, colorectal, anus, gallbladder, thoracic organs, connective and soft tissue, prostate, kidney, bladder, thyroid, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, lymphatic leukemia, myeloid leukemia, and other unspecified sites (all p < 0.05). Negative association between waste gas emissions and the esophagus cancer incidence was observed (p < 0.05). The results of the whole group were basically consistent with the results of the stratified analysis. The results from this retrospective population-based study suggest ambient air pollution from waste gas emissions was associated with multiple cancer incidences.
... Exposure to nature at work is most beneficial to employees who do not otherwise access nature during their workday, as the benefit of nature exposure is dependent on whether or not the employee has frequent exposure to nature as a condition of their present employment (Lottrup et al. 2012). Similarly, holding employment in a rural area reduces the importance of an office's exposure to nature, as the employee is benefiting from nature at other times throughout the week (Wells and Evans 2003;Ulrich 1979). ...
In past literature, exposure to nature has been demonstrated to have beneficial, restorative effects on the human body and cognitions. Using a two-wave, full panel design, the present study takes an interdisciplinary approach to extend previous findings and to explore the relationship between exposure to nature at work and workplace strain outcomes. The Attention Restoration Theory was used to describe how nature exposure indirectly reduces strain, through increased employee attention. The sample (N = 176) consisted of full-time office employees, working in an urban setting in the United States. Results demonstrated significant relationships between workplace nature exposure, directed attention, and strain outcomes (burnout, job dissatisfaction, and depressive symptoms). Specifically, directed attention significantly mediated the association between nature exposure and all workplace strain outcomes. The findings of the study provide several practical and theoretical contributions to occupational health science through the consideration of increased exposure to nature as a new, additional job resource. Future research should consider the relevance of workplace nature exposure to stressor-strain theory and the incorporation of nature into stress management interventions.
... A Danish survey included six companies that were known to have a high-quality green space nearby (Lottrup et al. 2012). The results showed a large variance in the use of these nature environments; 20-53% (M = 38%) of the respondents visited the green space more often than once a week during the workday. ...
This is an illustrative review on studies revealing the restorative, i.e. stress-reducing, effects of natural settings. We focus on the effects of viewing or being physically active in the natural setting and the effects of indoor plants and window views on restoration and recovery. These themes represent interesting and potentially fruitful areas for future studies that combine work and environmental psychological aspects.
There is conceptual similarity between recovery experiences and processes of perceived restorativeness. Increasing evidence shows that outdoor natural environments are more efficient in producing restoration than outdoor built environments. Anecdotal evidence shows that window views to natural elements buffer the negative impact of job stress on intention to quit; the more natural elements, the less the negative impact of job stress on turnover intentions. A laboratory study recording brainwaves and blood volume pulse has indicated that people are less nervous or anxious when looking at the window view to nature compared with the window view to the city or no window view. Also the amount of outdoor nature contact during breaks at work seems to be associated with less perceived stress and better self-rated health. Research has showed that plants in the office room seem to enhance the solution of creative tasks but deteriorate simple, proofreading or sorting tasks which require continuous concentration to the task. Some practical recommendations can be made on the basis of current evidence but more rigorous experimental and intervention studies are needed.
Article can be downloaded via: http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/vZzgtKfF3R3WaA7BbfaF/full
... Voor vrouwen was er alleen sprake van een indirecte relatie:de toegangsindex was wel positief gerelateerd aan de attitude ten aanzien van de werkomgeving, en deze was weer negatief gerelateerd aan het stressniveau (alleen voor vrouwen).Bjørnstad et al. (2016) vonden negatieve relaties tussen de hoeveelheid indoorcontact met natuur gedurende werktijd en stress, zelf gerapporteerde gezondheidsklachten en ziekteverzuim. Bij indoorcontact ging het om 3 Kanttekening bijLottrup et al. (2012): het gaat hier qua analyse meer om hoe individuen de buitenruimte waarnemen dan om hoe die buitenruimte objectief bezien gekarakteriseerd kan worden. Anders gezegd: het kan grotendeels gaan om interindividuele verschillen in de beleving van dezelfde buitenruimte.Een hoge mate van stress zou gekenschetst kunnen worden als een negatieve gemoedstoestand. ...
A conceptual model was developed, describing the short-term, medium and long-term effects of plants on the indoor climate and the health and well-being of people. The model was tested by means of intervention research at three companies and eight homes for the elderly. The effect of plants on the physical indoor climate was measured with sensors, the effect on the health and well-being of employees with questionnaires. In principle, a ‘Before After Control Impact’ approach was used at the locations. A control room and an intervention room were selected for each location. After a pre-measurement, plants were placed in the intervention room and up to three post-measurements were conducted. At the companies, significant effects were found on relative humidity (up), attractiveness of the workplace (more attractive), state of mind (more positive), satisfaction with own functioning (higher) and sickness absence reporting (less). The need for recovery after a working day showed a reversed effect (rising). No significant effects were found for the other variables in the model. Similar effects were not observed in the homes for the elderly. Possible reasons for the latter are: the small number of employees working in the same room (i.e., living room for clients), a low willingness amongst these employees to participate in the study (high work pressure), a high mobility amongst employees and working and working in both the intervention and the control room.
... Urban greening can reduce the population's exposure to air pollution through the interception of airborne particles on the leaf surface or inside the leaf tissues via roots [11] or the uptake of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) via stomata [12]. A growing body of research in outdoor environmental contexts, such as public urban spaces, residential settings, schools and hospitals shows that a view of the greening enhances health and reduces stress [13]. Moreover, research on urban parks demonstrates a positive relationship between availability of green areas and children and adolescents' physical activity [14] as well as creative play [15]. ...
... Besides the aforementioned sites, existing research has focused on other types of built environments. Among them, places frequently used in daily lives such as nursing homes (144), workplaces (147), preschool centers (90,158), schools (3), and campuses (113); places with aesthetic values or specific meanings in urban lives such as riverbanks, water features, coastal and marine areas (114,146,154); and places used by mixed groups of people such as urban transit areas (32) have been emphasized and studied. To compare the discrepancies among sites, some studies investigated more than one type of built environment (36). ...
As a significant part of outdoor built-environment, public open spaces are closely associated with people's daily lives. Studies of outdoor behavior in these spaces can shed light on users' environmental perceptions and contribute to the promotion of physiological and psychological health. Many recent studies are case studies focused where observations, surveys and interviews have been conducted to understand the factors influencing people's behavior on one or few sites or city environments. There have been few reviews related to this topic, and none have been based on the systematic understanding of influencing factors. This paper presents a systematic review of interactions between behavior and the built environment in public open spaces, and highlights the impacts of diverse and objective influencing factors. Followed the rules of PRISMA method (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses), 109 papers published in 2000–2021 were selected and reviewed. The distribution of the studied interactions is analyzed, and the impacts of four distinct factors: personal background, location and context, environmental component, and climate stimuli, are extracted, categorized, and specified. Moreover, outdoor health benefits are discussed based on which, crucial factors that require emphasis after the outbreak of COVID-19 are identified. Throughout this paper, behavioral influencing processes, including objective influencing factors, subjective feedback, and the relationships involved, are considered to provide a comprehensive picture. With the robust classification of existing factors, architects, urban designers, policy makers and fellow researches could be easier to get a more comprehensive trend from the past. This paper also provides guidance for future research, especially given that COVID-19 has created huge changes to outdoor needs and customary behavior.
Systematic Review Registration: http://www.prisma-statement.org/ .
... However, while the male to female ratio was on average 20:80, the results show that male staff members use the GOE slightly more than their female colleague at all five hospitals. This finding is consistent with Lottrup et al. (2012) who reported greater usage of GOE at work places among males. Information from all hospitals confirmed that a quarter of the total number of hospital employees was estimated to be on the day-shift each day. ...
... 또한 PSDs와 회복환경지각과의 관계성을 기반 으로 휴양경험모델을 개발하기도 하고(Malekinezhad, 2018) PSDs를 인간 중심적이고 보편적인 툴로 만들고 자 PSDs 기반의 변증법적 모델을 개발한 바 있다 (Stoltz, 2019). 실증적 관점에서의 PSDs에 관한 연구는 주로 PSDs 인식과 적용가능성을 분석하여 최적의 회복환경 조건 을 도출하는 것을 목적으로, 덴마크(Lottrup et al., 2012;Peschardt and Stigsdotter, 2013), 스웨덴(Stigsdotter and Grahn, 2011; De Jong et al., 2012;Pálsdóttir, 2014;Qiu and Nielsen, 2015;Pálsdóttir et al., 2018), 중국(Skärbäck et al., 2015; Chen and Gao, 2019; Gao et al., 2019), 러시아(Skärbäck et al., 2015), 말 레 이 시 아(Malekinezhad and Lamit, 2017), 이란(Memari et al., 2017) 등 국외에서 활발 하게 이루어지고 있다. 먼저 유럽권에서는 회복환경으로서 최적환경을 찾 아내기 위하여 PSDs를 다양한 방법론을 통해 심도있 게 활용하고 있다. ...
Recently, the role of urban forests has become important as demand for urban forests for health promotion purposes has increased. Thus, the importance of urban forests has been emphasized as a “restorative environment”. Based on the SET (Supportive Environment Theory), eight factors (eg. serene nature, rich in species, space, prospect, refuge, social and culture) that are perceived as restorative environments by visitors of urban forests have recently been defined as PSDs (Perceived Sensory Dimension). The purpose of this study is to understand the concept of PSDs, which has recently been actively discussed in the overseas countries from theoretical & application perspective, empirical perspective and design perspective. It also explores its applicability to urban forest in Korea. For this, 37 research journals and dissertation thesis published from the late 1980s to the present 2020 were analyzed. First, from the theoretical and application perspective, PSDs were introduced over three generations and showed that the proportion of empirical research was the highest among all studies and was being actively conducted recently. The PSDs study was also used to identify a variety of theoretical applications. Second, as a result of examining empirical studies, they were conducted mainly in surveys in various countries. Among the eight elements of PSDs, ‘Seene’ and ‘Nature’ were commonly derived, and other factors showed different results. In addition, PSDs showed a pattern of being combined and perceived as a restorative environment rather than being recognized as a single factor. Third, as a result of analyzing the research from a design perspective, PSDs have been verified as useful tools for creating a healthy environment, with cases designed using PSDs to suit the purpose and evaluated to have a positive effect on the health promotion of users. It was also confirmed that PSDs were actively used on-site, such as developing tools to enable them to be implemented. In sum, it is currently being developed into empirical research and design research phase that apply PSDs to space. In order to apply PSDs to domestic urban forests, understanding the context and environment of each site, analysis of use characteristics, and comparison of national research results need to be carried out in order to analyze PSDs’ research results. In order to this, various methodologies such as quantitative research and qualitative research need to be carried out. There is also a need for a multidimensional approach to PSDs rather than a single elemental approach to the eight elements. In Korea, it is believed that it is necessary to draw up guidelines so that the abstract concept of PSDs can be embodied in the domestic situation and used in practice. This study is significant that it considered the concept of PSDs, which has been actively discussed abroad recently, and drew up application directions and tasks in Korea at a time when interest in urban forests is rising as a restorative environment. However, if the research on PSDs is actively carried out in the future, it is believed that more in-depth theoretical consideration can be made around the accumulated research results.
... Chinese [27]. Our study also reported that adults with high levels of PA and rural adult males consumed more energy, possibly due to higher energy expenditure from outdoor activities and agricultural work [28]. Additionally, it was seen from the adjusted quantile regression model that the energy intake had a significantly positive impact on the BMI and WC in males, indicating that obese men may need more energy to maintain their weight. ...
Background To explore the the gender differences in the relationship between dietary energy and macronutrients intake and body weight outcomes in Chinese adults.
Methods Data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS, 2015) for10,898 participants aged 18-64 years. Three consecutive 24-h dietary recalls was used to assess the dietary intake. Quantile regression models for body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were performed separately for each sex.
Results Adult males showed greater absolute intakes of energy and macronutrients as compared to females as per the body weight outcomes. A 10% increase in BMI resulted in an additional intake of 0.002-0.004 kcal/d of dietary energy, 0.032-0.057 g/d of fats, 0.039-0.084 g/d of proteins, and 0.018-0.028 g/d of carbohydrates across all quantiles in males (p < 0.05). A 10% increase in WC resulted in an additional intake of 0.004-0.008 kcal/d of dietary energy, 0.051-0.052 g/d of carbohydrates across the entire quantile in males (p < 0.05), and an increased intake of 0.060-0.150 kcal/d of fat in females (p < 0.05).
Conclusions Dietary Fat intake could be the risk factor of abdominal obesity in women. The importance of gender- specific evidence should be considered before promoting macronutrient allocation for the prevention and treatment of obesity.
... Hongqiu Gu evaluated the PA patterns of urban and rural dwellers in China and found that urban males were less physically active than rural males and had a higher prevalence of obesity in the study involving Chinese [27]. Our study reported that rural adult with high PA consumed more dietary energy, possibly due to higher energy expenditure from outdoor activities and agricultural work [28]. Additionally, from the adjusted quantile regression model, it was reported that more dietary energy intake had positive effects on the BMI and WC in males, indicating that obese male may need more energy to maintain weight. ...
Background To explore the the gender differences in the relationship between dietary energy and macronutrients intake and body weight outcomes in Chinese adults.
Methods Data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS, 2015) for10,898 participants aged 18-64 years. Three consecutive 24-h dietary recalls was used to assess the dietary intake. Quantile regression models for body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were performed separately for each sex.
Results Adult males showed greater absolute intakes of energy and macronutrients as compared to females as per the body weight outcomes. A 10% increase in BMI resulted in an additional intake of 0.002-0.004 kcal/d of dietary energy, 0.032-0.057 g/d of fats, 0.039-0.084 g/d of proteins, and 0.018-0.028 g/d of carbohydrates across all quantiles in males (p < 0.05). A 10% increase in WC resulted in an additional intake of 0.004-0.008 kcal/d of dietary energy, 0.051-0.052 g/d of carbohydrates across the entire quantile in males (p < 0.05), and an increased intake of 0.060-0.150 kcal/d of fat in females (p < 0.05).
Conclusions Dietary Fat intake could be the risk factor of abdominal obesity in women. The importance of gender- specific evidence should be considered before promoting macronutrient allocation for the prevention and treatment of obesity.
... A study found that while physical and visual access to greenery improved workplace attitude and perceived levels of stress, employees with physical access reported the lowest levels of stress (Lottrup et al., 2013). Despite the benefits of physical contact with nature, studies identified barriers such as perceptions of being too busy to go outside (Lottrup et al., 2012) and that going outside during the workday may be ill-regarded by others (Hitchings, 2010). Therefore, provision of nature contact that is both accessible and encouraged may be important for employees' well-being. ...
Objectives
Chronic stress and burnout are key health issues for office workers that may contribute to a myriad of poor health outcomes. The presence of natural elements may improve psychological well-being in workers but the number of existing studies is relatively low, and more longitudinal research is specifically needed to assess how characteristics of workers’ day-to-day environments may impact mental health outcomes like affect, depression and stress. This report outlines a multi-study investigation of workers at Amazon, a multinational e-commerce company based in Seattle, Washington, USA, and the mental health benefits associated with exposure to nature.
Methods
In Study 1, participants (n = 153) responded to a cross-sectional survey that assessed the association of self-reported visitation to an indoor company greenspace with psychological well-being including symptoms of depression, anxiety, positive and negative affect, and stress. In Study 2, a subset of participants from Study 1 (n = 33) completed multiple surveys in a 2-week period that assessed the association of the naturalness of their current environments with their state levels of psychological well-being.
Results
We found contact with more natural outdoor environments was significantly associated with reduced state anxiety, after adjusting for activity type, location, and participants’ trait levels of nature relatedness.
Conclusions
Findings demonstrate that nature contact in everyday life is significantly associated with decreased levels of state anxiety. More research is needed to investigate the role of nature contact as a potential intervention in the workplace for improved mental health.
... Hongqiu Gu evaluated the PA patterns of urban and rural dwellers in China and found that urban males were less physically active than rural males and had a higher prevalence of obesity in the study involving Chinese [27]. Our study reported that rural adult with high PA consumed more dietary energy, possibly due to higher energy expenditure from outdoor activities and agricultural work [28]. Additionally, from the adjusted quantile regression model, it was reported that more dietary energy intake had positive effects on the BMI and WC in males, indicating that obese male may need more energy to maintain weight. ...
Background:
To explore the gender differences in the relationship between dietary energy and macronutrients intake and body weight outcomes in Chinese adults.
Methods:
Data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS, 2015) for10,898 participants aged 18-64 years. Three consecutive 24-h dietary recalls was used to assess the dietary intake. Quantile regression models for body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were performed separately for each sex.
Results:
Adult males showed greater absolute intakes of energy and macronutrients as compared to females as per the body weight outcomes. A 10% increase in BMI resulted in an additional intake of 0.002-0.004 kcal/d of dietary energy, 0.032-0.057 g/d of fats, 0.039-0.084 g/d of proteins, and 0.018-0.028 g/d of carbohydrates across all quantiles in males (p < 0.05). A 10% increase in WC lead to an additional intake of 0.004-0.008 kcal/d of dietary energy, 0.051-0.052 g/d of carbohydrates across the entire quantile in males (p < 0.05), and an increased intake of 0.060-0.150 kcal/d of fat in females (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Dietary fat intake could be the risk factor of abdominal obesity in women. The importance of gender-specific evidence should be considered before promoting macronutrient allocation for the prevention and treatment of obesity.
... Hongqiu Gu evaluated the PA patterns of urban and rural dwellers in China and found that urban males were less physically active than rural males and had a higher prevalence of obesity in the study involving Chinese [27]. Our study reported that rural adult with high PA consumed more dietary energy, possibly due to higher energy expenditure from outdoor activities and agricultural work [28]. Additionally, from the adjusted quantile regression model, it was reported that more dietary energy intake had positive effects on the BMI and WC in males, indicating that obese male may need more energy to maintain weight. ...
Background: To explore the gender differences in the relationship between dietary energy and macronutrients intake and body weight outcomes in Chinese adults.
Methods: Data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS, 2015) for10,898 participants aged 18-64 years. Three consecutive 24-h dietary recalls was used to assess the dietary intake. Quantile regression models for body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were performed separately for each sex.
Results: Adult males showed greater absolute intakes of energy and macronutrients as compared to females as per the body weight outcomes. A 10% increase in BMI resulted in an additional intake of 0.002-0.004 kcal/d of dietary energy, 0.032-0.057 g/d of fats, 0.039-0.084 g/d of proteins, and 0.018-0.028 g/d of carbohydrates across all quantiles in males (p < 0.05). A 10% increase in WC lead to an additional intake of 0.004-0.008 kcal/d of dietary energy, 0.051-0.052 g/d of carbohydrates across the entire quantile in males (p < 0.05), and an increased intake of 0.060-0.150 kcal/d of fat in females (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: Dietary Fat intake could be the risk factor of abdominal obesity in women. The importance of gender- specific evidence should be considered before promoting macronutrient allocation for the prevention and treatment of obesity.
... The sensory perception of nature characteristics, especially, PSDs cannot be measured with landscape objective assessment approaches (De Jong et al., 2011). There are studies assessed the experienced green space characteristics, subjectively using selfreported measurement approach by lay-public participants (Lottrup et al., 2012;Stigsdotter and Grahn, 2011;Qiu and Nielsen, 2015;Memari et al., 2017). Studies supported the reliability of PSDs in measuring of green space characteristics using lay-public experiences, with similar outcomes, in different countries despite differences in culture and history (Memari et al., 2017;Sk ärb äck et al., 2015). ...
Contact with nature is suggested to be as an important resource for human health and well-being. Stress alleviation and reduction of mental fatigue are main instances of improvement of human health and well-being in contact with nature. Although the term restoration experience in contact with nature has been used repeatedly for concepts of stress alleviation and reduction of mental fatigue, these refer to different sets of theories and research studies. In this paper, by reviewing the nature-health related theories of Biophilia, Stress Recovery Theory, Attention Restoration Theory and Supportive Environment Theory (SET), the similarities and differences between these two concepts have been discussed. Moreover, the measurement approach instruments based on different study methodologies and aims are provided. This paper could provide information for future studies with focus on factors to be of benefit for restoration experience in design and planning of natural landscape environments with the aim of health and well-being development.
... This indirectly explains why the density of companies can promote PGS use, but not the density of residences. Moreover, the positive relationship between the density of companies and PGS use aligns with the growing body of empirical research that workplace green space contributes to reducing the work−related stress and improving employee satisfaction, as well as their well−being [83][84][85]. In turn, companies may encourage employees to use green space around the workplace [86]. ...
A high greenness level can enhance green space use and outdoor physical activity. However, rapid urbanization and high-density development have led to the loss or fragmentation of green space, especially urban public green space (PGS). With the aim of increasing the health benefits from PGS, some planners and researchers suggest connecting existing PGSs to encourage urban residents to use the PGS, and thus, to improve public health. Does this suggestion stand with robustness? By taking 42 sub-districts in the inner area of Wuhan as the study objects, this paper examines the correlation between the connectivity of PGS and its use. We also explore how the characteristics of PGS and the facilities/functions in the neighboring areas influence this relationship by using Location Based Service data (WeChat-Yichuxing data), point of interest (POI) data, and remote-sensing image, etc. Using Regression Analysis, we found that there is no high correlation between PGS use and its connectivity. The possible causes might be attributed to the fact that PGS use is profoundly influenced by multifaceted competing impact factors, and no one can stand dominantly. It is interesting to see that the density of companies is positively, but slightly, related to PGS use.
... Overall, changing developer and landowner actions and preferences is likely the only way to sustainably alter development patterns, and there are strong arguments for ecologists' involvement in the development process (Niemelä 1999;Miller and Hobbs 2002;Felson, Oldfield, and Bradford 2013). In addition to outreach for developers and landowners on the importance of trees both to potential clients (Kaplan 2007;Lottrup et al. 2012;Nesbitt et al. 2017) and wildlife (this article; Stagoll et al., 2010;Barth, FitzGibbon, and Wilson 2015;Shryock, Marzluff, and Moskal 2017), joint research with developers to identify cost effective building techniques that conserve birds is essential. Meaningful sustainability must include a fundamental shift in how sites are developed-moving from a 'tabula rasa' approach where sites are cleared of vegetation and topsoil prior to development to a more place-based and site-specific design and engineering approach. ...
In cities, woody vegetation provides critical shelter, nesting and foraging habitat for bird species of interest. Human actions-including development and landscaping choices-determine vegetation community composition and structure, making these choices critically important to urban bird conservation. A better understanding of how bird communities are impacted by parcel-scale actions can help guide policy and management best practices to improve matrix habitat quality and quantity. Here, I examined how bird habitat use varies along a vegetation gradient created by different development and landscaping choices. I surveyed 20 commercial office developments near Seattle in the Puget Trough region of Washington, USA selected using stratified random sampling, where I quantified bird communities and observed feeding behavior. I used GLMM and PERMANOVA models with data likelihood metrics to identify the best supported variables for bird site use, along with TITAN models to identify changes in community composition along environmental gradients. I found that measures of bird effective species richness and bird community are positively influenced by the presence of more native conifers, including the presence of a stand predating development and the height and density of native conifers. Measures of the native bird community are negatively influenced by higher non-native tree density. In contrast to prior research , top-down landscape-scale variables did not explain variation in measures of the bird community on office developments. Importantly, I found that birds are associated with the same habitat on office developments as observed elsewhere. Together, my findings suggest an important role for developers, land owners, landscape architects, and tree protection policy in bird conservation.
... Neighborhood green spaces are important for residents for engaging in leisure and social activities (Zhang et al., 2013;Kang et al., 2017). However, those who work often "forget" or "have no time" to use green spaces owing to their busy schedules (Hitchings, 2010;Lottrup et al., 2012). In this study, the number of home-based leisure and entertainment AT is approximately 2.6 times that of work-based AT, which further shows that people's motivation to seek green spaces in their working environment is insufficient. ...
Urban green spaces are beneficial to residents’ physical and mental health, but their spatial distribution is unequal. Green justice studies typically use static administrative areas as contextual areas to evaluate green spaces, which can lead to biased estimations, as it ignores daily mobility. However, the phenomenon that actual perceived green exposure may be averaged by daily mobility has yet to be tested. Based on a survey of Beijing residents’ working, living, and daily travel environments, this study measures respondents’ static and dynamic green exposure and tests whether dynamic green exposure intensifies or alleviates green inequality from living and working environments. The following results are obtained. (1) From the perspective of weekly travel, individuals living or working in a satisfactory green space environment have high levels of dynamic green exposure. (2) The difference in the amount of greenness of communities will lead to the further polarization of dynamic green exposure for trips beyond 2000 m from home. (3) When working in an environment with poor green space and street greenery quality, trips beyond 2000 m from the workplace will have high-quality and efficient dynamic green exposure. This study tests and reports on the disparity in dynamic green exposure under different static geographical backgrounds, which complements theoretical research on green justice.
The present study focuses on small urban public parks, specifically on how they should be designed to promote a potential for psychological restoration and on what activities people could imagine doing in such parks. Students from Oslo University College were presented with visual stimuli depicting 74 small urban parks. They were asked to assess how likely it was that they could rest and recover in the parks presented in the photos. In addition, the participants were asked to write down what park components contributed to high versus low ratings on restoration likelihood, and what types of activities they could imagine doing in the parks presented in the photos. The components and activities the participants mentioned were grouped into categories describing similar properties. The categories mentioned most frequently and giving high ratings on restoration likelihood represented natural categories such as: ‘a lot of grass’, ‘a lot of flowers/plants’ and ‘water features’. In contrast, the categories contributing to low ratings on restoration likelihood represented lack of vegetation or disturbance from the surroundings such as: ‘a lot of hard surfaces’, ‘a lot of traffic’ and ‘poorly shielded from the surroundings’. The activities mentioned as being typically performed in the types of parks presented in the photos were ‘relax and philosophize’, ‘read’ and ‘eat/drink’. Conclusions drawn from the study: Small urban parks should be designed with natural components, shielded from disturbing surroundings and furnished with some seating to promote opportunities for restorative experiences and to function as social meeting places.
Work-related stress is an increasing problem among healthcare workers all over the world. The overall hypothesis of this study is that green outdoor environments (GOE) at hospitals may contribute to a less stressful working environment by offering psychological restoration. This study investigates GOE at five acute-care hospitals located in the capital region of Denmark. It aims to identify how the GOE are used by the employees and their potential for restoration. Data was collected through a survey where 183 employees completed an on-site questionnaire which included the perceived restorativeness scale (PRS). The main results indicate that the GOE are mostly used for a short while by the employees; the main activity is to have lunch, but they are also used actively to get away from the stressful working environment. The results from this study contribute to the international research on GOE at hospitals, and may be of inspiration for designers as well as for hospital staff and administrators.
White-collar workers, with tremendous work pressure, excessive working hours, and poor physical condition, need green spaces not only to have physical exercise and social gatherings, but also to become closer to nature and to relieve stress for their mental health. In China, the 996 office schedule, working from 09:00 to 17:00 six days a week, has become popular in the workplace; under such high-intensity work and pressure, white-collar workers have limited time to access green space for leisure, and their use of green space for health benefits is compromised. This study selected Shenzhen Futian Central Business District to find out the green space use patterns and preferences of white-collar workers based on GPS data and questionnaire surveys. In addition, the value of green exposure in the time dimension was calculated according to individuals' actual behaviors. Based on cluster analysis, this study summarized the typical green space use patterns of three groups of white-collar workers, which reflects the hidden inequity of white-collar groups who are subjected to varying degrees of spatiotemporal constraints in using green space. This paper puts forward three directions for the optimization of green space allocation, functional facilities, and improved walkability in employment-intensive urban areas. The results provide certain guiding significance for alleviating the mismatch of time and space in green space enjoyment and for improving the spatiotemporal inclusiveness of green spaces in urban central business districts.
Exposure to ambient air pollution causes 4.2 million deaths worldwide every year; thus, people may avoid traveling on polluted days. However, the extant studies have mixed findings of the travel behavior on polluted days, caused by the shortcomings of survey data and specific activity data. In order to fulfill this research gap, this study evaluates the relationship between air pollution and travel behavior based on approximately 4.6 billion mobile positioning records in Xi’an, China. Moreover, this study also investigates how different demographic groups travel differently on polluted days. The results indicate that air pollution has a significantly negative correlation with travel behavior. Specifically, (1) people reduce travel distance slightly but reduce travel area greatly; and (2) younger people (50 and under) reduce more travel area while older people (over 50) reduce more travel distance on polluted days.
Aim:
The main study objective was to explore policy and design factors contributing to nurses' perception of how well-designed staff break areas can play an important beneficial role in relation to their overall job satisfaction, retention, performance and job-related health concerns.
Background:
Nurses are extremely valuable to the healthcare industry; however, today's nursing profession is challenged by nurses' fatigue and its negative consequences on nurses' health and the quality of patient care they provide.
Methods:
Preliminary interviews were conducted with 10 nurses who worked as consultants in the healthcare design and construction industry. Based on findings, an online survey was developed and distributed to over 10 000 members of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses in the United States.
Results:
The majority of nurses viewed high-quality break spaces as 'fairly' or 'very' important in terms of their potential to positively influence staff, patient and facility outcomes. Stress, rest breaks and the quality of break areas were some of the significant factors contributing to their perception.
Conclusion/implications for nursing management:
The results of this empirical study support the conclusion that improvements in healthcare facility policies regarding staff breaks, as well as the creation of better-designed break areas, can be of significant benefit for nurses and the patients that they serve.
Global healthcare practice has expanded in the past 20 years. At the same time the incorporation of research into the design process has gained prominence as a best practice among architects. The authors of this study investigated the status of design research in a variety of international settings. We intended to answer the question, "how pervasive is healthcare design research outside of the United States?"
The authors reviewed the international literature on the design of healthcare facilities. More than 500 international studies and conference proceedings were incorporated in this literature review. A team of five research assistants searched multiple databases comparing approximately 16 keywords to geographic location. Some of those keywords included: evidence-based design, salutogenic design, design research, and healthcare environment. Additional articles were gathered by contacting prominent researchers and asking for their personal assessment of local health design research studies.
While there are design researchers in most parts of the world, the majority of studies focus on the needs of populations in developed countries and generate guidelines that have significant cost and cultural implications that prohibit their implementation in developing countries. Additionally, the body of literature discussing the role of culture in healthcare environments is extremely limited.
Design researchers must address the cultural implications of their studies. Additionally, we need to expand our research objectives to address healthcare design in countries that have not been previous considered.
© 2014 Vendome Group, LLC.
افراد شاغل در ادارات بخش زیادی از زمان خود را در روز داخل یک محیط بسته می گذرانند و محیط فیزیکی پیرامون تاثیر فراوانی بر سلامت، استرس و به طور مستقیم بر عملکرد شغلی و بهره¬وری آنان دارد، بنابراین توجه به محیط فیزیکی یکی از مهم ترین عوامل در توسعه محیط کار مطلوب و سالم محسوب می شود.
در اين پژوهش فاكتورهاي موثر در سلامت کارمندان بر اساس تحقيقات صورت گرفته در اين زمينه استخراج شده است. بر اساس نظريات ارائه شده، راهكارهايي معمارانه در طراحي محیط¬های کار در اين راستا بيان مي گردد. اين مطالعات معماران را به درك واكنش¬هاي رفتاري، روانشناختي و احساسي كاربران در طراحي ساختمان ها هدايت مي كند. تحقیق حاضر از نظر هدف، از نوع تحقیقات کاربردی بوده و از طریق مطالعات کتابخانه ای و بررسی نمونه¬های موردی ساختمان های اداری و استخراج احکام کاربردی قابل استناد صورت گرفته است. بر اساس اين پژوهش، پيشنهاد مي شود كه در طراحي محیط های کار، به طراحی محیط-های انعطاف پذیر و پویا، محیط های جمعی و تعاملی، محیط های کار سالم و سبز، پیوند با طبیعت، ارائه چشم اندازهای طبیعی و به کارگیری درست رنگ با رعایت اصول آکوستیک، تهویه و روشنایی در فضاهای داخلی پرداخته شود تا استرس های ناشی از محیط کار به حداقل کاهش یابد.
واژههاي كليدي: محیط کار، سلامت، استرس، کارمندان.
This research addresses the profiles of nature exposure and outdoor activities in nature among Finnish employees (N = 783). The profiles were formed on the bases of nature exposure at work and the frequency and type of outdoor activities in nature engaged in during leisure time. The profiles were investigated in relation to work engagement and burnout. The latent profile analysis identified a five-class solution as the best model: High exposure (8%), Versatile exposure (22%), Unilateral exposure (38%), Average exposure (13%), and Low exposure (19%). An Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted for each well-being outcome in order to evaluate how the identified profiles related to occupational well-being. Participants with a High, Versatile, or Unilateral exposure profile reported significantly higher work engagement in the dimensions of vigor and dedication than did the participants with a Low exposure profile. The participants with the High exposure profile also reported lower burnout in the dimensions of cynicism and professional inadequacy than the participants with the Low exposure profile. Nature exposure during the workday and leisure time is an under researched but important aspect in promoting occupational well-being.
Green outdoor environment (GOE) is a dynamic infrastructure to an urban area and part of the city’s ecosystem. Although numerous studies have been carried out on GOE, there is still a lack of information on GOE and its relationship in term of usability by office employees. The objectives of the study are to investigate the usage and constraints associated with GOE at workplaces by office employees in the Kuala Lumpur CCZ. The survey was conducted in September 2018 until March 2019 where 326 respondents (N = 326) were involved in this study. The survey findings show that GOE in the Kuala Lumpur CCZ was widely used and enjoyed by diverse groups. Nevertheless, the study found variations in the use, preferences and constraints faced by office employees in CCZ using GOE. The respondents relate their concerns about the location of GOE at workplaces in the Kuala Lumpur CCZ, accessibility, quality of the environment and other personal issues like hectic working hours and health issues. By determining the function of GOE, we can identify any potential of GOE in Malaysian context despite its small size and maximise the use of GOE in the Kuala Lumpur CCZ as an urban space that can provide green, healthy, inclusive, open and public spaces for the citizen of Kuala Lumpur.
Environments in which we work can be simultaneously demanding and fulfilling. Recently there have been efforts to consider the salutogenic approach with focus on environmental factors that support human health and well-being at work. Salutogenic design of workplaces is considered as a useful and valuable framework for making a positive impact, but there is still need for more research on the topic.
This thesis adopted salutogenic affordances perspective to the perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) and explored how those affordances were manifested in work environment. Salutogenic affordances can be defined as psychologically meaningful dimensions of the material environment that enable salutary processes to take place. The eight PSDs that have been previously identified as the main components of salutogenic environ-mental experiences were translated into affordances that were used as the backdrop of walk-and-talk interviews with four employees in one workplace in Finland. The aim was to try to understand how the salutogenic potential of the work environment was experienced by the employees of one workplace and what kind of experiential and environmental factors influenced their experience. The interviews were conducted and analysed with interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach.
The results of the analysis on the eight salutogenic affordances were portrayed in a narrative description. All the eight salutogenic affordances seemed to play a role in supporting the wellbeing of the participants at some level. They experienced the affordances in visually different locations and mostly outdoors. The places where the affordances were experienced, provided contrast to the regular office space. In some cases, the perceived affordances could not be actualized due to social norms or expectations. These findings shed some new light on the quality of salutary experience in a work context. Even if the studied affordances were psychosocial, all of them were also experienced in spatial and physical terms. This is in line with the Supportive environment theory, which argues that people need the support from their surrounding environment also for psychological processes. The results of this study support the previous research findings that it is important to include environmental qualities into salutogenic models of work. Overall, the salutogenic affordance concept as a tool for researching the embodied and experiential qualities of work environments appeared interesting and possibly complementary to other tools such as the perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs).
The present study is a general review of the published papers on women and the city with the aim of identifying knowledge gaps in the research. In order to achieve this goal, 275 papers were selected from 43 journals drawn from four data bases: Taylor and Francis; Wiley Online Library; Science Direct (Elsevier); and SAGE Libraries. The results of the paper suggest the United States of America and the United Kingdom have the highest number of papers in relation to women and the city, and in considering the period 1977–2019, the highest number of papers were published in the past 10 years. The knowledge gaps and debates which left behind are presented in five discussion documents which can be used for future research. These five documents include debates on the health and safety of women in cities; economic studies representing labour, migrants and poverty; social justice debates, and the road to the right to the city. The fifth document, at the end of this paper, presents a typology based on three aspects: theories of women in urban studies, ‘the theoretical debate’; the designer's efforts create urban spaces in order to achieve urban inclusivity, ‘the form-of-city debate’; and the inclusion of women in future urban development planning processes together with emerging gender planning theory, ‘the planning process debate’.
A conceptual framework linking indoor environment and stress is provided. The framework suggests that, in many cases, indoor environments may set forth a process leading to stress by affecting individual and/or workplace needs. The framework also suggests that because any direct causal relation between indoor environment and stress may be difficult to establish, researchers should focus more on the evidence that links indoor environment to individual and/or workplace needs. This review focuses primarily on the evidence that relates indoor environment to individual and/or workplace needs in health care and office settings. It shows a growing body of literature addressing these relationships in both settings. However, because the available evidence is uneven, there is a great need for the sharing of knowledge among researchers of these settings. In this regard, differences in organizational factors, user and workplace needs, and physical settings are some issues that need to be carefully considered.
This prospective research study was conducted at a government office which moved from an open-plan office with somewhat enclosed workspaces to another open-plan office with open workspaces. The study at the old office was conducted almost one year before the move, and the study at the new office was conducted more than one year after the move. The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to measure and evaluate changes in patterns of accessibility and visibility due to changes in office layout, (2) to understand the effects of layout changes on observed behaviors, and (3) to determine the effects of layout changes on environmental perception. The study included the analysis of visibility and accessibility of each layout using space syntax techniques, field observations of behaviors, and questionnaire surveys of employees’ perceptions of privacy, job satisfaction, and commitment to the organization. During field observations, movement, visible copresence (ie the number of people visible from a space), and face-to-face interaction were observed along a predefined route in each office. Thirty-five people responded to the questionnaire survey at the old office. Out of the thirty five, only twenty nine were available for survey at the new office. On the basis of the questionnaire survey data, three multi-item scales were constructed in order to measure perceived privacy, job satisfaction, and commitment to organization. Results indicate better visibility and accessibility, increased face-to-face interaction, and improved perceived privacy at the new office. Results also show consistent effects of space on movement, and significant positive correlations between perceived privacy, job satisfaction, and commitment to the organization at these locations, despite significant design differences. Implications of the research results and limitations of the research design are discussed.
Based on spatial analysis, network analysis, self-assessment questionnaires, field discussions and accounting documents, the authors discuss how workplace design and spatial layout support productivity in a communication design organization. The authors suggest that the impact of design goes beyond supporting more intense patterns of interaction and smoother flows of information. Workplace design and layout provide an intelligible framework within which collective knowledge is continuously explored, represented, interpreted, and transformed in relation to ongoing projects. Thus, the structure of space supports an organizational culture with cognitive functions.
What makes a neighborhood space vital? This article explores the possibility that the presence of trees and grass may be one of the key components of vital neighborhood spaces. We report on 758 observations of individuals in 59 outdoor common spaces in a residential development. Twenty-seven of the neighborhood common spaces were relatively green, whereas 32 were relatively barren. Results indicate that the presence of trees and grass is related to the use of outdoor spaces, the amount of social activity that takes place within them, and the proportion of social to nonsocial activities they support. The findings improve and broaden our understanding of the physical characteristics that influence social contact among neighbors and provide evidence that nature plays an important role in creating vital neighborhood spaces.
Although vegetation has been positively linked to fear of crime and crime in a number of settings, recent findings in urban residential areas have hinted at a possible negative relationship: Residents living in "greener" surroundings report lower levels of fear, fewer incivilities, and less aggressive and violent behavior. This study used police crime reports to examine the relationship between vegetation and crime in an inner-city neighborhood. Crime rates for 98 apartment buildings with varying levels of nearby vegetation were compared. Results indicate that although residents were randomly assigned to different levels of nearby vegetation, the greener a building's surroundings were, the fewer crimes reported. Furthermore, this pattern held for both property crimes and violent crimes. The relationship of vegetation to crime held after the number of apartments per building, building height, vacancy rate, and number of occupied units per building were accounted for.
Although vegetation has been positively linked to fear of crime and crime in a number of settings, recent findings in urban residential areas have hinted at a possible negative relationship: Residents living in “greener” surroundings report lower levels of fear, fewer incivilities, and less aggressive and violent behavior. This study used police crime reports to examine the relationship between vegetation and crime in an inner-city neighborhood. Crime rates for 98 apartment buildings with varying levels of nearby vegetation were compared. Results indicate that although residents were randomly assigned to different levels of nearby vegetation, the greener a building’s surroundings were, the fewer crimes reported. Furthermore, this pattern held for both property crimes and violent crimes. The relationship of vegetation to crime held after the number of apartments per building, building height, vacancy rate, and number of occupied units per building were accounted for.
Depending on what is in the view, looking out the window may provide numerous opportunities for restoration. Unlike other restorative opportunities, however, window viewing is more frequent and for brief moments at a time. The setting is also experienced from afar rather than while being in it. A study conducted at six low-rise apartment communities, using a survey with both verbal and visual material, provides considerable support for the premise that having natural elements or settings in the view from the window contributes substantially to residents’ satisfaction with their neighborhood and with diverse aspects of their sense of well-being. Views of built elements, by contrast, affected satisfaction but not well-being. Views of the sky and weather did not have a substantial effect on either outcome. The potential of nature content in the view from home to contribute so significantly to satisfaction and well-being suggests clear action mandates.
This article examines five common misunderstandings about case-study research: (a) theoretical knowledge is more valuable than practical knowledge; (b) one cannot generalize from a single case, therefore, the single-case study cannot contribute to scientific development; (c) the case study is most useful for generating hypotheses, whereas other methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building; (d) the case study contains a bias toward verification; and (e) it is often difficult to summarize specific case studies. This article explains and corrects these misunderstandings one by one and concludes with the Kuhnian insight that a scientific discipline without a large number of thoroughly executed case studies is a discipline without systematic production of exemplars, and a discipline without exemplars is an ineffective one. Social science may be strengthened by the execution of a greater number of good case studies.
We compare people greatly affected by a crisis with those less affected to explore how level of crisis influences their response to experiencing nature. A questionnaire comprising a validated protocol to evaluate frequency of stress conditions, the level of crisis retention, reorientation and rehabilitation potential was answered by 547 individuals. The questionnaire also comprises items on everyday activities. Our findings may be interpreted as follows: experiencing nature has a more powerful influence on the rehabilitation potential of people greatly affected by a crisis; taking a walk also has an influence, although not of equal importance; the social factor has more influence on the rehabilitation potential of people affected by a crisis to a low/moderate degree. Individuals who have many experiences of nature are less affected by their crisis than are those who have few such experiences. We suggest that the rehabilitative effect of nature is tied to its function as an enriched environment. During stays in natural settings, an interaction takes place between sensory stimulation, emotions and logical thought—an interaction that leads to a new orientation and new ways of seeing one's self and one's resources. This seems to largely be a question of how we human beings take in and process information.
Studies of stress in the work environment pay little attention to features of the physical environment in which work is performed. Yet evidence is accumulating that the physical environment of work affects both job performance and job satisfaction. Contemporary research on stress in the work environment typically focuses on psychosocial factors that affect job performance, strain and employee health, and does not address the growing body of work on the environmental psychology of workspace. This paper reviews theory and research bearing on stress in the workplace and explores how current theory might be applied to the relationship between worker behaviour and physical features of the work environment. The paper proposes a theoretical model of the worker–workspace relationship in which stress and comfort play a critical part, and suggests a methodological approach on which to base future empirical studies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This article examines five common misunderstandings about case-study research: (a) theoretical knowledge is more valuable than practical knowledge; (b) one cannot generalize from a single case, therefore, the single-case study cannot contribute to scientific development; (c) the case study is most useful for generating hypotheses, whereas other methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building; (d) the case study contains a bias toward verification; and (e) it is often difficult to summarize specific case studies. This article explains and corrects these misunderstandings one by one and concludes with the Kuhnian insight that a scientific discipline without a large number of thoroughly executed case studies is a discipline without systematic production of exemplars, and a discipline without exemplars is an ineffective one. Social science may be strengthened by the execution of a greater number of good case studies.
The goal of this review was to summarize the evidence for an effect of lifestyle-targeted interventions at the workplace on the main biological risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
We performed an extensive systematic literature search for randomized controlled trials (RCT) that met the following inclusion criteria: (i) targeted at workers; (ii) aimed at increasing physical activity and/or improving diet; and (iii) measured body weight, body fat, blood pressure, blood lipids and/or blood glucose. We used a nine-item methodological quality list to determine the quality of each study. A best-evidence system was applied, taking into account study quality and consistency of effects.
Our review included 31 RCT, describing a diversity of interventions (eg counseling, group education, or exercise). Of these studies, 18 were of high quality. Strong evidence was found for a positive effect on body fat, one of the strongest predictors of CVD risk. Among populations "at risk", there was strong evidence for a positive effect on body weight. Due to inconsistencies in results between studies, there was no evidence for the effectiveness of interventions on the remaining outcomes.
We found strong evidence for the effectiveness of workplace lifestyle-based interventions on body fat and, in populations at risk for CVD, body weight. Populations with an elevated risk of CVD seemed to benefit most from lifestyle interventions; supervised exercise interventions appeared the least effective intervention strategy. To gain better insight into the mechanisms that led to the intervention effects, the participants' compliance with the intervention and the lifestyle changes achieved should be reported in future studies.
This study examines the association between objectively measured access to green space, frequency of green space use, physical activity, and the probability of being overweight or obese in the city of Bristol, England. Data from the 2005 Bristol Quality of Life in your Neighbourhood survey for 6821 adults were combined with a comprehensive GIS database of neighbourhood and green space characteristics. A range of green space accessibility measures were computed. Associations between accessibility and the odds of respondents achieving a recommended 30min or more of moderate activity five times a week, or being overweight or obese, were examined using logistic regression. Results showed that the reported frequency of green space use declined with increasing distance. The study also found that respondents living closest to the type of green space classified as a Formal park were more likely to achieve the physical activity recommendation and less likely to be overweight or obese. The association with physical activity, but not with overweight or obesity, remained after adjustment for respondent characteristics, area deprivation, and a range of characteristics of the neighbourhood environment. The findings suggest that the provision of good access to green spaces in urban areas may help promote population physical activity.
The aim of this population-based study was to investigate associations between recreational values of the close natural environment and neighbourhood satisfaction, physical activity, obesity and wellbeing.
Data from a large public health survey distributed as a mailed questionnaire in suburban and rural areas of southern Sweden were used (N = 24,819; 59% participation rate). Geocoded residential addresses and the geographical information system technique were used to assess objectively five recreational values of the close natural environment: serene, wild, lush, spacious and culture.
On average, a citizen of the Scania region, inner city areas excluded, only had access to 0.67 recreational values within 300 metres distance from their residence. The number of recreational values near the residence was strongly associated with neighbourhood satisfaction and physical activity. The effect on satisfaction was especially marked among tenants and the presence of recreational values was associated with low or normal body mass index in this group. A less marked positive association with vitality among women was observed. No evident effect on self-rated health was detectable.
Immediate access to natural environments with high recreational values was rare in the study population and was distributed in an inequitable manner. Moreover, such access was associated with a positive assessment of neighbourhood satisfaction and time spent on physical activity, which can be expected to reduce obesity and increase vitality by having a buffering effect on stress.
Urban businesses, much like residential places, vary widely in their landscaping practices. Large mowed areas are widespread; native vegetation is far less common. The latter has numerous environmental benefits, but its wilder, rougher texture has not been as widely accepted. Very little of the research on naturalistic vegetation has been carried out in the context of workplaces or addressing the reactions of the employees. This study is a step in this direction. Using a survey and photo-questionnaire, employees along a major business corridor were asked about their nearby natural setting, satisfactions, preferences, and desired changed to the landscape. With respect to ground texture the findings show that the more prairie-like, less groomed areas can be very effective. A few large trees can make a substantial difference, and in denser vegetation a suggestion of a path enhanced satisfaction. The treatment of parking lots poses particular challenges, but these too can be landscaped with native vegetation to great advantage. Comparison of the preference ratings by the employee sample and a much larger general sample showed striking parallels. Preference for nature settings, especially of a walkable scale, are far greater than for places with major buildings or parking areas. Nonetheless, the study offers encouragement for the use of ecologically sounder practices as part of the nearby natural environment.
This article investigates the direct and indirect effects of windows in the workplace onjob satisfaction, intention to quit, and general well-being. The impact of three specific influencing mechanisms are examined: general level of illumination, sunlight penetration, and view. The extent to which these environmental features might moderate the negative consequences of job stress is investigated. The sample consisted of 100 white-and blue-collar workers who were employed in a large wine-producing organization in the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe. The results showed a significant direct effect for sunlight penetration on job satisfaction, intention to quit, and general well-being. A view of natural elements (i.e., trees, vegetation, plants, and foliage) was found to buffer the negative impact of job stress on intention to quit and to have a similar, albeit marginal, effect on general well-being. No effects for general level of illumination were found.
The utility of different theoretical models of restorative experience was explored in a quasi-experimental field study and a true experiment. The former included wilderness backpacking and nonwilderness vacation conditions, as well as a control condition in which participants continued with their daily routines. The latter had urban environment, natural environment, and passive relaxation conditions. Multimethod assessments of restoration consisted of self-reports of affective states, cognitive performance, and, in the latter study, physiological measures. Convergent self-report and performance results obtained in both studies offer evidence of greater restorative effects arising from experiences in nature. Implications for theory, methodology, and design are discussed.
Most studies of offices examine their physical or symbolic attributes independently. Yet office components can contain both attributes. To minimize unintended but potentially negative effects on occupants, researchers must consider both the physical and symbolic attributes of components when making recommendations about their deployment. This study compares the effects of the physical and symbolic attributes of architectural enclosure on worker performance using a survey database that contains workers' ratings of their office components. The amount of enclosure is determined by the height of the occupant's workspace divider, with taller dividers offering more enclosure. Divider height is positively associated with ratings of the two physical attributes considered: speech privacy and visual privacy. Divider height, however, does not affect occupants' ratings of a home-like atmosphere or workplace pride, the symbolic attributes considered. Yet, the occupants indicate that the two symbolic attributes are more important than the two physical attributes in improving their work performance. This might lead to office design choices. An office designed to maximize worker performance might do so by maximizing its symbolic impact. This analysis suggests that an office's symbolic impact may not always be increased by including more offices with tall dividers like enclosed, private offices.
Policy makers in Denmark are increasingly recognising the potential health benefits associated with green space, in particular with the use of green space. Knowledge on how green space is used, why it is used, and which factors influence its use, is becoming interesting for researchers, city planners and managers of green space. The present study is based on data from a nationwide study of 11238 randomly selected adult Danes. Respondents were asked about the distance to four different types of green space, their frequency of use of each of these types of green space, and the main reasons for visiting green space. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between potential predictor factors and visits to green space at least a few times per week. Results show that 66.9% of the respondents live within 300m of green space, 43.0% visit green space every day and 91.5% visit green space at least once a week. Only 0.9% never visit green space. To enjoy the weather and get fresh air is the most important reason for visiting green space for 87.2% of the respondents. Distance to green space is not a limiting factor for the majority of the Danish population and for that reason we recommend a thorough analysis of a neighbourhood or city, its population, and the available green spaces, before deciding on a viable strategy to increase the use of green space.
a b s t r a c t Everyday modern life offers fewer opportunities for outdoor activities and mental restoration. Outdoor activities in urban green spaces might be a promising means to lower levels of stress. Our hypothesis is that individuals' Level of Stress (LS) is related to the interaction between preferences for certain perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) of the outdoor environment and certain types of outdoor activities. A total of 953 randomly selected informants, representative of the Swedish population, answered a postal questionnaire with pre-coded items. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: personal data, preferences for PSDs and for outdoor activities, and self-estimations of health. The study focuses on ill health in relation to Level of Stress (LS). The data was analysed using factor and regression analysis. The results show that individuals reporting high LS are more likely to: be younger adults, women, be on sick-leave, have small children, be dissatisfied with their home environment, experience poorer access to green spaces and, foremost, want to use public green spaces more often. Seventeen different outdoor activity types are identified. The most preferred activity type among the most stressed informants was 'rest activities' followed by 'animal activities' and 'walking activities'. All pairs of these three activity types and PSDs showing a significant association were transformed into 'activity-sensory dimension types'. A regression analysis shows that the most preferred activity-sensory dimension types for informants reporting high LS are 'animal activities' in the PSD 'rich in species', 'animal activities' in the PSD 'refuge', and 'rest activities' in the PSD 'nature'. These results may be interpreted as providing information regarding how to plan urban green spaces with certain characteristics that could promote outdoor activities which are preferred by stressed indi-viduals.
Windows have been found to be a particularly salient feature of the workplace, not only as a matter of preference but also for health and well-being. Depending on what is in the view, looking out of the window may provide numerous opportunities for restoration. This study investigated the effect of window views on job satisfaction and stress. The impact of two specific influencing mechanisms was examined: existence of forest views through windows in workplaces, and absence of forest views through windows in workplaces. The sample consisted of 931 office workers in Seoul, South Korea, 481 who could see forest views from their workplaces and 450 who could not see forest views. A set of self-administered questionnaires including job satisfaction and job stress measures was distributed to the sample from April to September 2004. The results showed a significant direct effect of forest views from windows on job satisfaction and stress. Respondents' personal information such as gender, age and job category did not influence on the window view effects. As expected, employees' job satisfaction and job stress were highly and negatively correlated.
How might the fact that western people now spend so much of their time indoors impact upon techniques for studying urban greenspace experience? This paper takes this question as its starting point before substantiating one possible answer. It does so by using qualitative methods to examine the everyday practices of city professionals in London and what they tell us about the likelihood that this group will ever venture out into the various parks and gardens found around their offices. Many studies have considered which physical arrangements of city greenspace seem to deliver the greatest amounts of human benefit. Yet this kind of endeavour gives us only one part of the puzzle and contextual studies with those now generally found indoors have something important to add. It is with this in mind that the paper discusses how one sample of office workers quite easily forgot about these spaces, how certain social injunctions both pushed them outside and sealed them indoors, and why it sometimes made good sense for them to avoid any areas of local outdoor vegetation during the day. In so doing it highlights contextual dynamics that seem set to make significant impacts on the future of urban environmental experience and offers some novel suggestions about how best to promote positive greenspace relations in cities today.
We compared psychophysiological stress recovery and directed attention restoration in natural and urban field settings using repeated measures of ambulatory blood pressure, emotion, and attention collected from 112 randomly assigned young adults. To vary restoration needs, we had half of the subjects begin the environmental treatment directly after driving to the field site. The other half completed attentionally demanding tasks just before the treatment. After the drive or the tasks, sitting in a room with tree views promoted more rapid decline in diastolic blood pressure than sitting in a viewless room. Subsequently walking in a nature reserve initially fostered blood pressure change that indicated greater stress reduction than afforded by walking in the urban surroundings. Performance on an attentional test improved slightly from the pretest to the midpoint of the walk in the nature reserve, while it declined in the urban setting. This opened a performance gap that persisted after the walk. Positive affect increased and anger decreased in the nature reserve by the end of the walk; the opposite pattern emerged in the urban environment. The task manipulation affected emotional self-reports. We discuss implications of the results for theories about restorative environments and environmental health promotion measures.
Urbanicity presents a challenge for the pursuit of sustainability. High settlement density may offer some environmental, economic, and social advantages, but it can impose psychological demands that people find excessive. These demands of urban life have stimulated a desire for contact with nature through suburban residence, leading to planning and transportation practices that have profound implications for the pursuit of sustainability. Some might dismiss people's desire for contact with nature as the result of an anti-urban bias in conjunction with a romantic view of nature. However, research in environmental psychology suggests that people's desire for contact with nature serves an important adaptive function, namely, psychological restoration. Based on this insight, we offer a perspective on an underlying practical challenge: designing communities that balance settlement density with satisfactory access to nature experience. We discuss research on four issues: how people tend to believe that nature is restorative; how restoration needs and beliefs shape environmental preferences; how well people actually achieve restoration in urban and natural environments; and how contact with nature can promote health. In closing, we consider urban nature as a design option that promotes urban sustainability.
High school students today are experiencing unprecedented levels of school-related stress. At the same time, a growing body of research has linked views of nature with restoration from mental fatigue and stress reduction. How important are such views for students while they are at school? This study investigated 101 public high schools in southeastern Michigan to examine the role played by the availability of nearby nature in student academic achievement and behavior. The analyses revealed consistent and systematically positive relationships between nature exposure and student performance. Specifically, views with greater quantities of trees and shrubs from cafeteria as well as classroom windows are positively associated with standardized test scores, graduation rates, percentages of students planning to attend a four-year college, and fewer occurrences of criminal behavior. In addition, large expanses of landscape lacking natural features are negatively related to these same test scores and college plans. These featureless landscapes included large areas of campus lawns, athletic fields, and parking lots. All analyses accounted for student socio-economic status and racial/ethnic makeup, building age, and size of school enrollment.
This study is based on a theoretical view which suggests that under increased demands for attention, individuals' capacity to direct attention may become fatigued. Once fatigued, attentional restoration must occur in order to return to an effectively functioning state. An attention-restoring experience can be as simple as looking at nature. The purpose of this study was to explore whether university dormitory residents with more natural views from their windows would score better than those with less natural views on tests of directed attention. Views from dormitory windows of 72 undergraduate students were categorized into four groups ranging from all natural to all built. The capacity to direct attention was measured using a battery of objective and subjective measures. Natural views were associated with better performance on attentional measures, providing support for the proposed theoretical view.
Stress and stress-related illnesses, as reflected in medical records, have increased dramatically among adults and children in Western societies. A growing part of the budget for medical service in Sweden is used for individuals suffering from different stress-related illnesses such as burnout syndrome, insomnia and fatigue, depression, feelings of panic, etc. In this paper, we present results from a study in which 953 randomly selected individuals in nine Swedish cities answered a questionnaire about their health and their use of different urban open green spaces in and close to the city.The results indicate that city landscape planning may affect the health of town-dwellers. Statistically significant relationships were found between the use of urban open green spaces and self-reported experiences of stress – regardless of the informant's age, sex and socio-economic status. The results suggest that the more often a person visits urban open green spaces, the less often he or she will report stress-related illnesses. The same pattern is shown when time spent per week in urban open green spaces is measured.The distance to public urban open green spaces seems to be of decisive importance, as is access to a garden, in the form of a private garden or a green yard immediately adjacent to, for instance, an apartment building. People do not usually compensate for lack of green environments in their own residential area with more visits to public parks or urban forests.According to our results, laying out more green areas close to apartment houses, and making these areas more accessible, could make for more restorative environments. Outdoor areas that provide environments free from demands and stress, and that are available as part of everyday life, could have significant positive effects on the health of town-dwellers in Sweden. This may also apply to other Western societies.
Research indicates a relationship between sensory perception of natural environments and human health. Our hypothesis is that people perceive green spaces in terms of certain dimensions, where some dimensions are more important and preferred than others with respect to restoring people from stress.The aims are to: identify and describe the perceived dimensions in nature; identify which dimensions people in general prefer; identify the dimensions people reporting stress prefer; and identify a combination of the dimensions people reporting stress prefer.A total of 953 randomly selected informants from nine Swedish cities (representative of the Swedish population) answered a postal questionnaire with pre-coded questions. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: personal data, preferences for natural qualities and self-estimations of health status. The data were analyzed using factor analysis and regression analyses.The results identify and describe eight perceived sensory dimensions. People in general prefer the dimension Serene, followed by Space, Nature, Rich in Species, Refuge, Culture, Prospect and Social. The dimensions Refuge and Nature are most strongly correlated with stress, indicating a need to find the most restorative environments. A combination of Refuge, Nature and Rich in Species, and a low or no presence of Social, could be interpreted as the most restorative environment for stressed individuals.From a city planning perspective, the results indicate how urban green spaces can be viewed as elements of importance to public mental health. However, before the dimensions can be used by practitioners as tools to promote health through city planning, more research is needed.
To investigate the associations between green space and health, health-related quality of life and stress, respectively.
Data were derived from the 2005 Danish Health Interview Survey and are based on a region-stratified random sample of 21,832 adults. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews followed by a self-administered questionnaire, including the SF-36, which measures eight dimensions of health and the Perceived Stress Scale, which measures self-reported stress. A total of 11,238 respondents completed the interview and returned the questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the association between distance to green space and self-perceived stress.
Danes living more than 1 km away from the nearest green space report poorer health and health-related quality of life, i.e. lower mean scores on all eight SF-36 dimensions of health than respondents living closer. Respondents living more than 1 km away from a green space have 1.42 higher odds of experiencing stress than do respondents living less than 300 m from a green space. Respondents not reporting stress are more likely to visit a green space than are respondents reporting stress. Reasons for visiting green spaces differ significantly depending on whether or not respondents experience stress. Respondents reporting stress are likely to use green spaces to reduce stress.
An association between distance to a green space and health and health-related quality of life was found. Further, the results indicate awareness among Danes that green spaces may be of importance in managing stress and that green spaces may play an important role as health-promoting environments.
This study investigates whether the presence of green space can attenuate negative health impacts of stressful life events. Individual-level data on health and socio-demographic characteristics were drawn from a representative two-stage sample of 4529 Dutch respondents to the second Dutch National Survey of General Practice (DNSGP-2), conducted in 2000-2002. Health measures included: (1) the number of health complaints in the last 14 days; (2) perceived mental health (measured by the GHQ-12); and (3) a single item measure of perceived general health ranging from 'excellent' to 'poor'. Percentages of green space in a 1-km and 3-km radius around the home were derived from the 2001 National Land cover Classification database (LGN4). Data were analysed using multilevel regression analysis, with GP practices as the group-level units. All analyses were controlled for age, gender, income, education level, and level of urbanity. The results show that the relationships of stressful life events with number of health complaints and perceived general health were significantly moderated by amount of green space in a 3-km radius. Respondents with a high amount of green space in a 3-km radius were less affected by experiencing a stressful life event than respondents with a low amount of green space in this radius. The same pattern was observed for perceived mental health, although it was marginally significant. The moderating effects of green space were found only for green space within 3 km, and not for green space within 1 km of residents' homes, presumably because the 3-km indicator is more affected by the presence of larger areas of green space, that are supposed to sustain deeper forms of restoration. These results support the notion that green space can provide a buffer against the negative health impact of stressful life events.
The well-being of the workforce is clearly a matter of concern to the employer. Such concern translates to considerable costs in the form of fringe benefit packages, health promotion programs, ergonomics, and other ways to reduce absence and enhance health and satisfaction. Despite such efforts, however, one way to address well-being that entails relatively low costs has been largely ignored in the work context. Proximity and availability of the natural environment can foster many desired outcomes, even if the employee does not spend a great amount of time in the natural setting. A theoretical framework is presented that helps explain why even the view from the window can have a positive impact with respect to well-being. Results from two studies offer some substantiation. Further research on the role of nature in the workplace is essential; however, decisions to provide health promoting programs and to enhance fringe benefit packages have not been offered as a direct consequence of empirical verification. While providing windows at work may not be a simple matter, other ways to increase contact with vegetation may provide a low-cost, high-gain approach to employee well-being and effectiveness. Peer Reviewed http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30542/1/0000175.pdf
Most adults do not achieve adequate physical activity levels. Despite the potential benefits of worksite health promotion, no previous comprehensive meta-analysis has summarized health and physical activity behavior outcomes from such programs. This comprehensive meta-analysis integrated the extant wide range of worksite physical activity intervention research.
Extensive searching located published and unpublished intervention studies reported from 1969 through 2007. Results were coded from primary studies. Random-effects meta-analytic procedures, including moderator analyses, were completed in 2008.
Effects on most variables were substantially heterogeneous because diverse studies were included. Standardized mean difference (d) effect sizes were synthesized across approximately 38,231 subjects. Significantly positive effects were observed for physical activity behavior (0.21); fitness (0.57); lipids (0.13); anthropometric measures (0.08); work attendance (0.19); and job stress (0.33). The significant effect size for diabetes risk (0.98) is less robust given small sample sizes. The mean effect size for fitness corresponds to a difference between treatment minus control subjects' means on VO2max of 3.5 mL/kg/min; for lipids, -0.2 on the ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein; and for diabetes risk, -12.6 mg/dL on fasting glucose.
These findings document that some workplace physical activity interventions can improve both health and important worksite outcomes. Effects were variable for most outcomes, reflecting the diversity of primary studies. Future primary research should compare interventions to confirm causal relationships and further explore heterogeneity.
Positive environmental determinants of exercise frequency remain poorly understood. Knowing that
people often value exercise for psychological restoration, we investigated the restorative quality of
indoor and outdoor exercise settings as predictors of exercise frequency. We surveyed 319 members of
fitness centers in Zurich that offer indoor and outdoor exercise alternatives. Outdoor settings were rated
as more restorative. For each type of environment, restorative quality predicted the frequency of
exercise in the past 30 days, independent of socio-demographic characteristics, expectations of exercise
benefits, and personal barriers. We discuss the results with regard to the provision of exercise settings
for urban populations.
To critically review the literature with respect to the effectiveness of worksite physical activity programs on physical activity, physical fitness, and health.
A search for relevant English-written papers published between 1980 and 2000 was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Sportdiscus, CINAHL, and Psychlit. The key words used involved a combination of concepts regarding type of study, study population, intervention, and outcome measure. In addition, a search was performed in our personal databases, as well as a reference search of the studies retrieved.
The following criteria for inclusion were used: 1) randomized, controlled trial or nonrandomized, controlled trial; 2) working population; 3) worksite intervention program to promote employees' physical activity or physical fitness; and 4) physical activity, physical fitness, or health-related outcomes.
Two reviewers independently evaluated the quality of relevant studies using a predefined set of nine methodological criteria. Conclusions regarding the effectiveness of a worksite physical activity programs were based on a rating system consisting of five levels of evidence.
Fifteen randomized, controlled trials and 11 nonrandomized, controlled trials met the criteria for inclusion and were reviewed. Six randomized, controlled trials and none of the nonrandomized, controlled trials were of high methodological quality. Strong evidence was found for a positive effect of a worksite physical activity program on physical activity and musculoskeletal disorders. Limited evidence was found for a positive effect on fatigue. For physical fitness, general health, blood serum lipids, and blood pressure, inconclusive or no evidence was found for a positive effect.
To increase the level of physical activity and to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders, we support implementation of worksite physical activity programs. For the other outcome measures, scientific evidence of the effectiveness of such a program is still limited or inconclusive, which is mainly the result of the small number of high-quality trials. Therefore, we recommend performing more randomized, controlled trials of high methodological quality, taking into account criteria such as randomization, blinding, and compliance.
This review describes current patterns and long-term trends (up to 50 years when possible) related to (a) physical activity, (b) employment and occupation, (c) travel behavior, (d) land use, and (e) related behaviors (e.g., television watching). On the basis of available data, the following trends were observed according to type of physical activity: relatively stable or slightly increasing levels of leisure-time physical activity, declining work-related activity, declining transportation activity, declining activity in the home, and increasing sedentary activity. These result in an overall trend of declining total physical activity. Large differences were noted in the rates of walking for transportation across metropolitan statistical areas. A strong linear increase existed in vehicle miles traveled per person over the past half century, coupled with a strong and consistent trend toward Americans living in suburbs. Although it is difficult to precisely quantify owing to the lack of long-term data, it is apparent that a combination of changes to the built environment and increases in the proportion of the population engaging in sedentary activities put the majority of the American population at high risk of physical inactivity.
It is now widely believed that health promotion strategies should go beyond education or communication to achieve significant behavioral changes among the target population. Environmental modifications are thought to be an important addition to a worksite health promotion program (WHPP). This review aimed to systematically assess the effectiveness of WHPPs with environmental modifications, on physical activity, dietary intake, and health risk indicators.
Online searches were performed for articles published up to January 2004 using the following inclusion criteria: (1) (randomized) controlled trial (RCT/CT); (2) intervention should include environmental modifications; (3) main outcome must include physical activity, dietary intake, and health risk indicators; and (4) healthy working population. Methodologic quality was assessed using a checklist derived from the methodologic guidelines for systematic reviews (Cochrane Back Review Group), and conclusions on the effectiveness were based on a rating system of five levels of evidence.
Thirteen relevant, mostly multicenter, trials were included. All studies aimed to stimulate healthy dietary intake, and three trials focused on physical activity. Follow-up measurements of most studies took place after an average 1-year period. Methodologic quality of most included trials was rated as poor. However, strong evidence was found for an effect on dietary intake, inconclusive evidence for an effect on physical activity, and no evidence for an effect on health risk indicators.
It is difficult to draw general conclusions based on the small number of studies included in this review. However, evidence exists that WHPPs that include environmental modifications can influence dietary intake. More controlled studies of high methodologic quality need to be initiated that investigate the effects of environmental interventions on dietary intake and especially on physical activity in an occupational setting.
Use of companies green areas. A report from Landskabsvaerkstedet, DFIF, and DGI
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Tid og Vel faerd (Time and welfare)
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