Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

This presentation will report the findings from a literature review on the relationships between the natural environment and the health of older adults. Older adults, living with and without dementia, who were exposed to the natural environment showed improvements in their health and well-being. The natural environment consisted of sunlight and nature, non-manmade materials such as plants, trees, herbs, fruits, vegetables, and flowers, and were located in the indoor or outdoor spaces. There were 42 peer-reviewed studies found on this topic using five databases. Majority of the studies were located in long-term care homes and a few in hospitals. The natural environment effected older adults' physiological health, such as activities of the daily living (eating, using the toilet, and moving around), vitamin D levels, melatonin levels, sleep, falls, pain, violence, and medication and dietary intake. It also effected psychological health, such as depression, stress, anxiety, perception of own health, hope, sense of achievement, behaviour, and mood. Moreover, it effected their social health, such as social connection, companionship, and loneliness. These studies looked at multiple ways older adults were exposed to sunlight and nature, such as the windows that provided views to the outdoors, the indoor and outdoor activities of gardening and horticulture, and the presence of natural environment design features. The presence of natural environment design features was different from one long-term care home to another. Many older adults were not exposed to the natural environment because they were physically unable to go into the garden on their own and they were not able to get assistance. The work on this topic is limited but the evidence is important for the renovation and new construction of long-term care homes.