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Perceptions of green space usage, abundance, and quality of green space were associated with better mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic among residents of Denver

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  • Colleen E Reid
  • Emma S Rieves
  • Kate Carlson

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted both physical and mental health. This study aimed to understand whether exposure to green space buffered against stress and distress during the COVID-19 pandemic while taking into account significant stressors of the pandemic. Methods: We leveraged a cross-sectional survey on green space exposure and mental health among residents of Denver, CO that ran from November 2019 through January 2021. We measured objective green space as the average NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) from aerial imagery within 300m and 500m of the participant’s residence. Perceived green space was measured through Likert scores on five questions about vegetation near the home that captured perceived abundance, visibility, access, usage, and quality of green space. We used generalized linear models to assess the relationship between each green space exposure variable and perceived stress (PSS-4), depression (CES-D-10), or anxiety (MMPI-2) adjusted for sociodemographic and COVID-19 impact variables. Results: We found significantly higher depression scores for all covid periods compared to the “before covid” period, and significantly higher anxiety scores during the “fall wave” compared to earlier periods. Adjusted for sociodemographic and pandemic stressors, we found that spending a lot of time in green space (usage) was significantly associated with lower anxiety and depression. We also observed significantly lower depression scores associated with NDVI in both buffers (objective abundance) and significantly lower anxiety scores with perceived abundance of green space. There was some evidence of lower anxiety scores for people reporting having high quality green spaces near the home (quality). We did not observe significant associations for any green space metric and perceived stress after adjustment for confounding variables. Conclusion: Our work provides further evidence of mental health benefits associated with green space exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic even after adjustment for sociodemographic variables and significant pandemic-related stressors.

Suggested Citation

  • Colleen E Reid & Emma S Rieves & Kate Carlson, 2022. "Perceptions of green space usage, abundance, and quality of green space were associated with better mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic among residents of Denver," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(3), pages 1-21, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0263779
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263779
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    Cited by:

    1. Shuhao Liu & Chang Su & Ruochen Yang & Jianye Zhao & Kun Liu & Kwangmin Ham & Shiro Takeda & Junhua Zhang, 2022. "Using Crowdsourced Big Data to Unravel Urban Green Space Utilization during COVID-19 in Guangzhou, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-20, June.
    2. Ralf C. Buckley & Mary-Ann Cooper, 2022. "Tourism as a Tool in Nature-Based Mental Health: Progress and Prospects Post-Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-15, October.
    3. Helena Nordh & Katinka H. Evensen, 2022. "Landscape Architecture Design and Well-Being—Research Challenges and Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-3, April.
    4. Xiaoqi Feng & Thomas Astell-Burt, 2022. "Perceived Qualities, Visitation and Felt Benefits of Preferred Nature Spaces during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Australia: A Nationally-Representative Cross-Sectional Study of 2940 Adults," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-16, June.
    5. Maggie MacKinnon & Rebecca MacKinnon & Maibritt Pedersen Zari & Kain Glensor & Tim Park, 2022. "Urgent Biophilia: Green Space Visits in Wellington, New Zealand, during the COVID-19 Lockdowns," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-14, May.
    6. Tzitzi Sharhí Delgado-Lemus & Ana Isabel Moreno-Calles, 2022. "Agroforestry Contributions to Urban River Rehabilitation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, June.

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