Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA 98121, USA.
Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Jun 19;15(6):1287. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15061287.
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.
越来越多的证据表明，与大自然接触对健康和幸福感有益，同时也凸显了在接触和暴露于大自然方面存在的种族和阶级不平等。我们对美国拉丁裔与大自然接触的文献进行了综合分析，以评估该领域的知识现状，并从战略上确定研究需求，从而改善这一日益增长的少数族裔群体的健康结果并减少健康差距。我们的系统综述共纳入了 108 篇文章，过去 30 年来论文数量显著增加。我们注意到，该领域的研究主要集中在某些特定的目标人群（城市地区的成年人），而对其他人群（儿童、老年人和农村地区）的了解相对较少。我们的分析还表明，研究强烈地分为基于不重叠主题和测量类型的“研究集群”。尽管三分之一的研究探讨了健康结果，但这些研究很少涉及其他结果或研究主题。此外，不到 7%的研究报告了干预措施。鉴于接触大自然对健康和幸福感的潜在益处，需要开展多学科研究，探讨社会、文化和经济因素之间的相互作用，以及这些因素最终如何与美国拉丁裔的大自然接触和结果相关。
