IJERPH, Vol. 15, Pages 1282: Farming for Life Quality and Sustainability: A Literature Review of Green Care Research Trends in Europe

IJERPH, Vol. 15, Pages 1282: Farming for Life Quality and Sustainability: A Literature Review of Green Care Research Trends in Europe International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph15061282 Authors: Marina García-Llorente Radha Rubio-Olivar Inés Gutierrez-Briceño Green care is an innovative approach that combines simultaneously caring for people and caring for land through three elements that have not been previously connected: (1) multifunctional agriculture and recognition of the plurality of agricultural system values; (2) social services and health care; and (3) the possibility of strengthening the farming sector and local communities. The current research provides a comprehensive overview of green care in Europe as a scientific discipline through a literature review (n = 98 studies). According to our results, the Netherlands, the UK, Norway and Sweden followed by Italy have led the scientific studies published in English. Green care research comprises a wide range of perspectives and frameworks (social farming, care farming, nature-based solutions, etc.) with differences in their specificities. Green care studies have mainly focused on measuring the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions. Studies that evaluate its relevance in socio-economic and environmental terms are still limited. According to our results, the most common users studied were people suffering from psychological and mental ill health, while the mos...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research