Promoting Health and Behavior Change through Evidence-Based Landscape Interventions in Rural Communities: A Pilot Protocol

Shan Jiang (), Udday Datta and Christine Jones
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Shan Jiang: GBBN Architects, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, USA
Udday Datta: School of Design and Community Development, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
Christine Jones: Community Care of West Virginia at Big Otter (Big Otter Clinic), Ivydale, WV 25113, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: Rural communities in the United States have many public health issues, including a high prevalence of physical inactivity, obesity, and higher risks for major non-communicable diseases. A lack of safe and convenient places to exercise could intensify healthy lifestyle disparities. Individually adapted physical activity prescriptions at the primary level of healthcare could play a role in behavior change for rural residents. Healthcare professionals and designers created the rural wellness hub concept, which integrates walking trails and therapeutic landscape features on the clinic site, to support patient physician-prescribed activities and treatments. This research protocol reports the design and implementation of the rural wellness hub at a clinic in Clay County, West Virginia. Following a participatory, evidence-based landscape intervention (EBLI) protocol, 58 user representatives (patient = 49; clinic employee = 9) participated in the four-phase protocol: (1) pre-design survey, (2) design and development, (3) post-design interview, and (4) post-occupancy evaluation. Survey and interview data from all phases were collected and analyzed. The preliminary results indicate that the redesigned clinic campus could promote several health programs among local communities, with the benefits of walking trails, in particular, highlighted. The rigorous EBLI protocol could serve as a template for rural communities that seek to develop similar healthcare intervention programs.

Keywords: evidence-based design; therapeutic landscapes; physical activity; rural community; health promotion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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