Green Care: A Conceptual Framework - Frisk i naturen

7
Green care: interacting policy and
social frameworks
7.1 Health promotion
Green care has emphasized the therapeutic use of agricultural and
horticultural activities and tried to find means to show its effectiveness in
ways comparable to those of clinical health care. This has led to problems,
because the outcomes of green care are not rapidly visible, but gained
during a long time period and are not as specific as the outcomes of,
for example, surgery or antibiotics used in medical care. The processes
involved in green care are mainly targeted to enhance the coping strategies
of individuals, rather than to cure the symptoms of diseases. Instead of
disease-oriented health care, green care raises interest in a salutogenic
approach to health, i.e., in the factors which contribute to the health of
individuals. Therefore, a holistic view of health, with an emphasis on
the active participation of individuals in developing and maintaining
their health, might be feasible to use in the context of green care. Health
promotion may be a framework which can assemble various activities and
actors involved in green care and provide a new means for the evaluation of
its outcomes (Rappe, 2007).
According to the Ottawa Charter, health promotion is “the process of
enabling people to take control over, and improve their health” (WHO,
1986). Health promotion concerns the promotion of healthy life-styles and
changes in living environment which enhance health and make healthy
choices easier. The goals of health promotion can be met by adjusting
personal, social, economical, physical and ecological factors which have an
effect on health.
The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion defines five ways of action to
promote health: healthy public policy, supportive environments, community
action for health, life skills and health literacy, and development of health
services (WHO, 1986). All of these actions are relevant to green care.
Healthy public policy makes healthy choices available and also easier to
achieve. In healthy public policy health is taken into account in all sectors
of administration and policymaking. For example, in city planning, parks
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