Measuring adult health and well-being outcomes associated with nature contact in parks and other forms of protected areas: a scoping review protocol (Preprint)

Abstract

Growing evidence shows various health and well-being benefits from nature contact in parks and other forms of protected areas. Methods to measure these outcomes lack systematic identification, critical appraisal, and synthesis.

This scoping protocol details the methodology for a scoping review of the instruments that measure health and well-being linked to nature contact in protected areas, including their psychometric properties.

A multidisciplinary team will conduct the review following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Eight databases will be searched for peer-reviewed literature measuring the mental health and well-being outcomes associated with direct nature contact in protected areas among adults over 18 years of age. All retrieved sources will be screened using clearly identified inclusion/exclusion criteria. Psychometric properties of instruments used in included studies will be analyzed.

The scoping review will provide an organized summary of quantitative and qualitative instruments for measuring mental health and well-being outcomes, offering a starting point from which to critically examine the validity and consistency of such methods, helping researchers choose the best tool to assess outcomes.

Findings will aid in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of current measurement approaches to mental health and well-being outcomes of nature contact and may be used to guide future research on this topic.

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