Trends and Knowledge Gaps in the Study of Nature-Based Participation by Latinos in the United States

Pooja S. Tandon, Lauren M. Kuehne and Julian D. Olden
Additional contact information
Pooja S. Tandon: Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98121, USA
Lauren M. Kuehne: School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Julian D. Olden: School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-11

Abstract: Mounting evidence supports health and well-being benefits associated with nature experiences, while also highlighting race- and class-based inequalities in access and exposure. We synthesized the literature on nature contact by Latinos in the United States to assess the state of knowledge and strategically identify research needs to improve outcomes and reduce health disparities for this rapidly growing ethnic group. Our systematic review revealed 108 articles with a notable increase in number of papers over the past 3 decades. We noted that the body of research is focused on certain demographic targets (adults in urban areas) with a relative dearth of knowledge for others (children, seniors, and rural areas). Our analysis also revealed strong compartmentalizing of studies into research “clusters” based on nonoverlapping topics and types of outcomes that are measured. Although one-third of studies explored health outcomes, these studies rarely examined other outcomes or research topics. Moreover, less than 7% of studies reported on interventions. Given the potential for nature contact to enhance health and well-being, there is substantial need for multidisciplinary research that explores interactions between social, cultural, and economic factors, and how those ultimately relate to nature contact and outcomes for Latinos in the United States.

Keywords: nature; greenspace; recreation; outdoors; health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/6/1287/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/6/1287/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:6:p:1287-:d:153209

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().