Background: Urban green spaces (UGS) have been shown to benefit both social cohesion and health outcomes. A new framework by Jennings and Bamkole (2019) suggests that social cohesion might act as a social determinant of health mediating the health benefits provided by UGS. Aim: To investigate associations between UGS, social cohesion, and self-rated health (SRH) in Swedish adults. Methods: A cross-sectional survey for adults living in Västerås (n=106) was conducted. Questions about UGS covered type, visit frequency, proximity, time spent, and UGS quality. Social cohesion was measured using a 13-item scale developed by de Vries et al. (2013). SRH was assessed with one Likert-scale item. Results: A t-test showed that forests were associated with higher social cohesion (M=46.44, SD=8.25) compared to parks (M=42.34, SD=6.56; p=.006), while logistic regressions revealed higher social cohesion was associated with better SRH when adjusted for age (OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.03 - 1.18, p = .008). No relationships between UGS and SRH were identified, and social cohesion did not affect that relationship further. Discussion: The small sample size, convenience sampling, and limited assessment of possible confounders have to be considered. Conclusion: The results from this study partially support Jennings and Bamkole’s (2019) framework, indicating its merits and confirming the need to investigate social cohesion as a central factor in the relationship between UGS and health outcomes further.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mdh-62958 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Marquardt, Tahnee |
| Publisher | Mälardalens universitet, Akademin för hälsa, vård och välfärd |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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