Quality criteria of nature-based interventions in healthcare facilities: a scoping review

Ann Sterckx; Ben Delbaere; Geert De Blust; Irina Spacova; Roeland Samson; Roy Remmen; Hans Keune

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1327108

Quality criteria of nature-based interventions in healthcare facilities: a scoping review

Front Public Health. 2024 Jan 11:11:1327108. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1327108. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Ann Sterckx¹, Ben Delbaere¹, Geert De Blust¹, Irina Spacova², Roeland Samson², Roy Remmen³, Hans Keune¹

Affiliations

¹ Chair Care and the Natural Living Environment, Department of Primary and Interdisciplinary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
² Department of Bioscience Engineering, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
³ Department of Primary and Interdisciplinary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.

Abstract

Introduction: Implementing integrated nature-based interventions that simultaneously serve human health and the restoration of biodiversity in healthcare facilities is considered a promising strategy. As an emerging field of research and practice in healthcare, identification of quality criteria is necessary to support desired outcomes related to biodiversity, human health and intervention processes. This study is part of a larger research project in collaboration with the Flemish Agency of Nature and Forest in Belgium.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews, in PubMed, Medline, Web of Science and Scopus. A step-by-step tabular screening process was conducted to identify relevant studies and reviews of nature-based interventions, published in English between January 2005 and April 2023. A qualitative content analysis was conducted and the results were then presented to the project steering group and a panel of stakeholders for refinement.

Results: After filtering on the eligibility criteria, and with focus on healthcare facilities, 14 articles were included in this study. A preliminary nature-based interventions quality framework with a set of quality indicators has been developed.

Discussion: When designing integrated nature-based interventions, a needs analysis of users and the outdoor environment should be conducted. Next, the integration of a One Health and biodiversity perspective and the application of a complex intervention framework, could support the quality of the design and implementation of nature-based interventions in healthcare facilities and facilitate their assessment. In future work, more rigorous research into the design and implementation of integrated nature-based interventions is needed to test and refine the quality criteria in practice.

Keywords: One Health; healthcare; mental health; nature-based intervention; physical health; quality assessment; relationship with nature; social health.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Belgium
Delivery of Health Care*
Humans

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The Agency for nature and forests of the Flemish Government funded this study (Grant No. ANB-AB-2022-210), as part of a larger funded project intending to create an NBI quality assessment framework. IS was supported by a grant from the Research Foundation–Flanders [Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO) (postdoctoral grant 1277222 N)].