The effects of changes to the built environment on the mental health and well-being of adults: Systematic review

Moore, T. H.M.; Kesten, J. M.; L�pez-L�pez, J. A.; Ijaz, S.; McAleenan, A.; Richards, A.; Gray, Selena; Savovi?, J.; Audrey, S.

Abstract

© 2018 The Authors There is increasing interest in the influence of place on health, and the need to distinguish between environmental and individual level factors. For environmental-level factors, current evidence tends to show associations through cross-sectional and uncontrolled longitudinal analyses rather than through more robust study designs that can provide stronger causal evidence. We restricted this systematic review to randomised (or cluster) randomised controlled trials and controlled before-and-after studies of changes to the built environment. Date of search was December 2016. We identified 14 studies. No evidence was found of an effect on mental health from ‘urban regeneration’ and ‘improving green infrastructure’ studies. Beneficial effects on quality-of-life outcomes from ‘improving green infrastructure’ were found in two studies. One ‘improving green infrastructure’ study reported an improvement in social isolation. Risk-of-bias assessment indicated robust data from only four studies. Overall, evidence for the impact of built environment interventions on mental health and quality-of-life is weak. Future research requires more robust study designs and interdisciplinary research involving public health, planning and urban design experts.

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Acceptance Date: Jul 17, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Sep 6, 2018
• Publication Date: Sep 6, 2018
• Deposit Date: Sep 7, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 21, 2018
• Journal: Health and Place
• Print ISSN: 1353-8292
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-2054
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 53
• Pages: 237-257
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.07.012
• Keywords: systematic review, urban environment, mental health, well-being, meta-analysis
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/861834
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.07.012
• Additional Information: Corporate Creators : National Institute of Health Research NIHR Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care West (CLAHRC West)
• Contract Date: Sep 7, 2018