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A WALK IN THE PARK: Associations between urban green spaces, social cohesion, and self-rated health in Swedish adults
Mälardalen University, School of Health, Care and Social Welfare.
2023 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

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. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2023.
Keywords [en]
public health, self-rated health, social cohesion, social determinants, urban green spaces, urban health
National Category
Public Health, Global Health and Social Medicine
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-62958OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mdh-62958DiVA, id: diva2:1764061
Subject / course
Science of Public Health
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Examiners
Available from: 2023-06-08 Created: 2023-06-08 Last updated: 2025-02-20Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
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Citation style
  • apa
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Output format
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