Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Mar:86:103185.
doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103185. Epub 2024 Feb 9.

A systematic review of audit tools for evaluating the quality of green spaces in mental health research

Hyunseo Park  1 , Catherine D Brown  1 , Amber L Pearson  2
Affiliations

A systematic review of audit tools for evaluating the quality of green spaces in mental health research

Hyunseo Park et al. Health Place. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Research showing the relationship between exposure to green space and health has yielded conflicting results, possibly due to the oversight of green space quality in quantitative studies. This systematic review, guided by the PRISMA framework (registered under Prospero ID CRD42023279720), focused on audit tools for green space quality in mental health research. From 4028 studies, 13 were reviewed, with 77 % linking better mental health outcomes to higher green space quality. Eight tools, especially Public Open Space and Dillen et al. tools demonstrated strong correlations with mental health. Certain green space qualities like grass, pathways, and water elements showed positive health associations. Future research should aim for standardized quality metrics and robust methodologies to support causal inferences and efficient assessments.

Keywords: Green space; Mental health; Natural environment; Quality assessment; Well-being.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Systematic review process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alderton A, O’Connor M, Badland H, Gunn L, Boulange C, Villanueva K, 2022. Access to and quality of neighbourhood public open space and children’s mental health outcomes: evidence from population linked data across eight Australian capital cities. Int. J. Environ. Res. Publ. Health 19 (11), 6780. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Amano T, Butt I, Peh KSH, 2018. The importance of green spaces to public health: a multi-continental analysis. Ecol. Appl. 28 (6), 1473–1480. - PubMed
    1. Araya R, Montgomery A, Rojas G, Fritsch R, Solis J, Signorelli A, Lewis G, 2007. Common mental disorders and the built environment in Santiago, Chile. Br. J. Psychiatry 190, 394–401. 10.1192/bjp.bp.106.024596. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Astell-Burt T, Feng XQ, 2019. Association of urban green space with mental health and general health among adults in Australia. JAMA Netw. Open 2 (7), e198209. 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.8209. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ayala-Azcárraga C, Diaz D, Zambrano L, 2019. Characteristics of urban parks and their relation to user well-being. Landsc. Urban Plann. 189, 27–35.

Publication types