Spatial Analysis of Greenspace and Mental Health in North Carolina

Ryan, Sophia C.; Sugg, Margaret M.; Runkle, Jennifer D.; Matthews, Jessica L.

doi:10.1097/FCH.0000000000000363

i

Spatial Analysis of Greenspace and Mental Health in North Carolina

2023
By Ryan, Sophia C. ; Sugg, Margaret M. ; Runkle, Jennifer D.
Source Family & Community Health (2023)

[PDF - 19.98 MB]

Details

Journal Title:

Family & Community Health
Personal Author:

Ryan, Sophia C. ; Sugg, Margaret M. ; Runkle, Jennifer D. ; Matthews, Jessica L.
NOAA Program & Office:

NESDIS (National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service) ; NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information) ; NCICS (North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies)
Description:

Greenspace positively impacts mental health. Previous research has focused on the greenspace-mental health relationship in urban areas. Yet, little work has looked at rural areas despite rural communities reporting similar rates of poor mental health outcomes and higher rates of suicide mortality compared with urban areas. This ecological research study examined the following research questions: (1) Do public and/or private greenspaces affect the spatial distribution of mental health outcomes in North Carolina? (2) Does this relationship change with rurality? Emergency department data for 6 mental health conditions and suicide mortality data from 2009 to 2018 were included in this analysis. Spatial error and ordinary least squares regressions were used to examine the influence of public and private greenspace quantity on mental health in rural and urban communities. Results suggest greenspace benefits mental health in rural and urban communities. The strength of this relationship varies with urbanity and between public and private greenspaces, suggesting a more complex causal relationship. Given the high case counts and often lower density of mental health care facilities in rural areas, focusing attention on low-cost mental health interventions, such as greenspace, is important when considering rural mental health care.
Keywords:
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Source:

Family & Community Health (2023)
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1097/FCH.0000000000000363
ISSN:

0160-6379
Format:

PDF
Publisher:

Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Document Type:

Journal Article
Rights Information:

Accepted Manuscript
Rights Statement:

The NOAA IR provides access to this content under the authority of the government's retained license to distribute publications and data resulting from federal funding. While users may legally access this content, the copyright owners retain rights that govern the reproduction, redistribution, and re-use of this work. The user is solely responsible for complying with applicable copyright law.
Compliance:

Submitted
Download URL:

https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/50073/noaa_50073_DS1.pdf
File Type:

[PDF - 19.98 MB]
Collection(s):

NOAA Cooperative Institutes ; National Environmental Satellite and Data Information Service (NESDIS)
Main Document Checksum:

urn:sha-512:69f7ce3105444337011693149e8886a4fcbcdec3aea2661cd92abf5dc675d106af8ee0df30822153d4d824e77f9f0a5f4247cc3bda58ef13f4f195aa7c7e7ad5

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