A series of new evidence reviews by NASP’s academic partners – commissioned by Natural England and NHS England – suggests that nature is a powerful tool that can be harnessed by social prescribers to improve people’s health and wellbeing.
The four Evidence Information Notes commissioned by Natural England relate to the links between time spent in nature and mental and physical health for adults and children, while the NHS-commissioned review and briefing focuses on the role of nature-based social prescribing and how it can be used to support those who may be experiencing health inequalities.
Together, the reviews have extracted evidence from hundreds of high-quality studies, examining the experiences of thousands of people to understand how nature has affected them. The result is a large body of evidence, detailing the many ways in which spending time in nature, and connecting with it, is beneficial for our health and wellbeing.
James Sanderson, Director of Community Health and Personalised Care at NHS England, said: “With partners, we have been promoting the wide range of physical and mental ill-health benefits of nature based activities, particularly with examples across the country through our Green Social Prescribing Test and Learn sites to tackle and prevent mental ill-health. To now see this evidenced in this report, it provides the health and care system with the foundation to encourage a wider rollout reaching into areas who may experience health inequalities and support people and what matters to them.”
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Posted On: 19/12/2022