Swansea University, Glyndwr 214, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
Perspect Public Health. 2023 May;143(3):173-178. doi: 10.1177/17579139231170777. Epub 2023 May 2.
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the ways that human health intersects with exposure to nature. This article reports the findings of a research study investigating the experiences of people in South and West Wales who were engaged in a specific type of nature and health intervention: ecotherapy.
Ethnographic methods were used to develop a qualitative account of the experiences of participants in four specific ecotherapy projects. Data collected during fieldwork included notes from participant observations, interviews with both individuals and small groups, and documents produced by the projects.
Findings were reported using two themes: 'smooth and striated bureaucracy' and 'escape and getting away'. The first theme focused on how participants negotiated tasks and systems related to gatekeeping, registration, record keeping, rule compliance, and evaluation. It was argued that this was experienced differently along a spectrum between striated, in which it was disruptive to time and space, and smooth, in which it was much more discrete. The second theme reported on an axiomatic perception that natural spaces represented an escape or refuge; in terms of both reconnecting with something beneficial in nature, and also disconnecting from pathological aspects of everyday life. In bringing the two themes into dialogue, it could be seen that bureaucratic practices often undermined the therapeutic sense of escape; and that this was more acutely experienced by participants from marginalised social groups.
This article concludes by reasserting that the role of nature in human health is contested and arguing for a greater emphasis on inequities in access to good quality green and blue space. Specific interventions like ecotherapy need funding models that avoid striated bureaucratic processes, and the stress associated with these. Inclusive models of ecotherapy practice could contribute to public health goals related to population engagement with healthy environments.
近年来，人们越来越关注人类健康与接触自然之间的关系。本文报告了一项研究的结果，该研究调查了南威尔士和西威尔士的人们在参与一种特定类型的自然与健康干预措施——生态疗法时的体验。
采用民族志方法对来自四个特定生态疗法项目的参与者的体验进行了定性描述。实地工作中收集的数据包括参与者观察的笔记、对个人和小组的访谈，以及项目产生的文件。
使用两个主题报告了研究结果：“光滑和条纹状的官僚主义”和“逃避和脱身”。第一个主题侧重于参与者如何协商与把关、登记、记录保存、遵守规则和评估相关的任务和系统。有人认为，这在条纹状和光滑状之间的一个光谱上存在差异，在条纹状中，它会扰乱时间和空间，而在光滑状中，它更加离散。第二个主题报告了一种公理式的感知，即自然空间代表了一种逃避或避难所；既可以重新与自然中有益的东西联系起来，也可以与日常生活中的病态方面断开联系。将这两个主题进行对话，可以看出官僚主义做法常常破坏了治疗性的逃避感；而且，这在来自边缘化社会群体的参与者中体验更为强烈。
本文最后重申，自然在人类健康中的作用是有争议的，并主张更加重视获得高质量的绿色和蓝色空间的机会不平等。生态疗法等特定干预措施需要避免条纹状官僚主义流程和相关压力的资金模式。生态疗法实践的包容性模式可以为与健康环境相关的公众健康目标做出贡献。
