Urban green space visitation and mental health wellbeing during COVID-19 in Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

Urban green spaces offer numerous benefits, and their role in supporting mental health, particularly during global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, is of growing interest to researchers and policymakers. This study explored the relationship between urban green space visitation and mental health well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangkok, Thailand. This cross-sectional study, conducted in Bangkok during the COVID-19 lockdown, used a telephone survey of 579 respondents. A logistic regression model was employed to examine the association between urban green space visitation and the WHO-5 mental health well-being score, considering various factors such as socioeconomic variables, healthy behaviors, and COVID-19-related experiences. The findings revealed a significant association between urban green space visitation during the lockdown and higher mental health well-being. Socioeconomic variables and healthy behaviors of respondents were also notably linked to higher WHO-5 mental health well-being scores. These findings collectively indicate that urban greenspace visitation serves as a crucial determinant of mental health and well-being, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Neighbourhood Walkability and Physical Activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…In accordance with the ethical guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, this study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Institute for the Development of Human Research Protection (IHRP) in Thailand. Other findings from this survey can also be found in a separate publication [22]. The following paragraphs describe the variables used in this study.…”

“…The physical activity level was assessed using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ), which quantifies the amount of physical activity (in minutes per week) in the work, transportation, and recreation domains. The GPAQ was validated and interviewer-administered and adapted to the Thai context following previous studies in Thailand [21][22][23]. According to the 2020 World Health Organization (WHO) global guidelines on physical activity for health, it is recommended that adults aged 18-64 years should engage in 150-300 min of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity weekly [24].…”