Green Care: A Conceptual Framework - Frisk i naturen
Green Care: A Conceptual Framework - Frisk i naturen
Green Care: A Conceptual Framework - Frisk i naturen
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mental and social facets. Overall health is experienced as the sum of all of<br />
the facets of health at any one time. The perceived health state is a dynamic<br />
process which is affected by individual meanings. In the model, health can<br />
be improved either by enhancing positive health or by reducing negative<br />
health, or doing both.<br />
The objective of the therapeutic use of green care is to reduce ill-health.<br />
It can consist of horticultural therapy, animal-assisted therapy and other<br />
therapeutic activities, which are targeted to heal conditions related to<br />
ill-health. Stress and attention fatigue can be seen as incapacitating states<br />
of human body; so the recovery provided by green environments is<br />
therapeutic.<br />
Well-being has two dimensions: true well-being and fitness. True wellbeing<br />
is related to the empowerment of individuals based on autonomy<br />
and feeling of well-being. Coping resources and possibilities to use one’s<br />
capabilities contribute to autonomy. <strong>Green</strong> care provides many possibilities<br />
to exert control over events and situations and offers opportunities for free<br />
choice and development of skills.<br />
Fitness is related to an individual’s physical capacity to cope with the<br />
demands of the environment. <strong>Green</strong> care can be used to increase the<br />
compatibility between the individual and the environment by providing the<br />
opportunity for physical activity and exercise in accessible and supportive<br />
surroundings.<br />
The suggestion based on the model of Downie et al, (2000), that health<br />
can be promoted not only by preventing ill-health but also by enhancing<br />
well-being and fitness, is in accordance with the salutogenic approach<br />
described by Antonovsky (1988), in which factors maintaining good health<br />
are emphasized (Rappe, 2005). In Antonovsky’s theory a strong sense<br />
of coherence maintains good health by providing resources to manage<br />
everyday strain. A sense of coherence can be achieved when stimuli derived<br />
from the environment are comprehensible, manageable and meaningful for<br />
an individual.<br />
Outcomes<br />
The outcomes of green care are difficult to prove, especially when a<br />
biomedical disease-oriented construct of health is used. The use of a<br />
102 <strong>Green</strong> <strong>Care</strong>: A <strong>Conceptual</strong> <strong>Framework</strong>