Tomasso Linda Powers, Laurent Jose Guillermo Cedeño, Chen Jarvis T, Catalano Paul J, Spengler John D
Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Population Health Sciences, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Sustainability. 2021 Oct 2;13(20). doi: 10.3390/su132011266. Epub 2021 Oct 13.
The variability of nature and the nature construct have complicated interpretations of empirical evidence from nature-based health studies. The challenge of defining nature exposure for purposes of methodological standardization may encompass constructs beyond vegetated landcover. This study offers a new construct for defining 'nature exposure' that considers cultural sets and nature familiarity. Focus group discussions across the United States (N = 126) explored the concept of what constitutes the relationship to nature. The participant diversity included regions, cultural demographics, cumulative nature experience, and everyday nature exposure. Mixed methods of semi-structured discussion and a photo exercise that prompted nature connectedness allowed for data triangulation and the detection of contradictions between approaches. Individuals conceptualized nature in ways reflecting highly personal and differentiated experiences, which defied consensus toward a single nature construct. The group scoring of photo imagery showed consistent high and low levels of nature connectedness with respect to wildness and outdoor urban venues, respectively, but diverged in the assessment of nature within the built environment. Everyday nature exposure significantly differentiated how groups conceptualized and related to nature imagery. This result may indicate an unmet biophilic need among groups with low backgrounds of nature exposure. The contrasts between the discussion content and the observed reactions to nature imagery showed the value of using mixed methods in qualitative research.
自然的变异性和自然构成使得基于自然的健康研究中的实证证据解释变得复杂。为实现方法标准化而定义自然暴露面临的挑战可能涉及植被覆盖土地以外的构成要素。本研究提出了一种新的“自然暴露”定义架构，该架构考虑了文化背景和对自然的熟悉程度。在美国各地开展的焦点小组讨论（N = 126）探讨了构成与自然关系的概念。参与者的多样性包括地区、文化人口统计学特征、累积的自然体验以及日常的自然暴露情况。采用半结构化讨论和激发自然联结感的照片练习相结合的混合方法，实现了数据三角互证，并发现了不同方法之间的矛盾之处。个体对自然的概念化方式反映了高度个性化和差异化的体验，这使得难以就单一的自然构成达成共识。对照片意象的小组评分显示，在野性和户外城市场所方面，自然联结感分别呈现出持续的高、低水平，但在对建成环境中的自然评估方面存在分歧。日常的自然暴露显著影响了不同群体对自然意象的概念化方式及其与自然意象的关联。这一结果可能表明，在自然暴露背景较低的群体中，存在未被满足的亲生物需求。讨论内容与对自然意象的观察反应之间的差异表明了在定性研究中使用混合方法的价值。
