Meristem Library - Literature Review
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Literature Summaries and Review Methodology
Query: Does contact with nature, even views of nature, have positive
health benefits?
If such benefits exist, can they be measured and used to
advocate for green spaces in healthcare settings?
Introduction
These questions are addressed in literature which crosses professional boundaries, making it difficult to assemble a cohesive body of knowledge. For example, the following disciplines publish relevant works: Environmental Psychology, Public Health, Restoration Ecology, Landscape Design, Horticulture/Horticultural therapy, Health Care, Facilities Management, and Recreation and Leisure. Furthermore, preliminary studies are published in conference proceedings while some final studies never reach peer review. Editorials often appear in publications with limited readership. Many writings are in the form of commentary or theorizing and propose application of ideas intuitively “known” to be true rather than proven scientifically, making much of what is available derivative, rather than original.
Meristem advocates for commissioning and disseminating future studies in this emerging field. Key to this effort is identifying what is of high quality in the available literature as well as what yet needs to be examined.
However, the predominant view of the medical community and an understanding of their skepticism is best summarized by Richard Kaufman, MD, in Restorative Gardens: The Healing Landscape (Gerlach-Spriggs, Kaufman, and Warner):
There is no firm scientific proof that gardens or horticulture have therapeutic value. Virtually no research would satisfy the medical scientists’ need for double-blind controlled studies, nor are there crossover studies in which the data are reproduced and reaffirmed in a variety of settings. In studying the role of gardens – or any psychological or aesthetic therapeutic agent – satisfying the demands of statistical certainty is well-nigh impossible.
Nonetheless, a steadily accumulating body of evidence suggests that nature, specifically gardens, fills a critical niche in the approach to patient care. Awareness of the requirements of the medical science community regarding valid research can serve as a guide in evaluating current studies and in development of more convincing studies. At the same time, again quoting Dr. Kaufman:
To ignore these data [existing studies] because they are “soft” would be akin to saying that Mozart may not be exalting because we have no proof of it.
Thus while advocating for more stringent research in the future, we proceed here with our work of summarizing and reviewing the existing literature related to the topic of nature and human health.
© 2006
Meristem, Inc.