Engaging vulnerable people in sustainable construction projects may prove effective in addressing their mental health and social connection concerns

Davies, J. ., McKenna, M. ., Bayley, J. ., Denner, K. ., & Young, H. . (2020). Using engagement in sustainable construction to improve mental health and social connection in disadvantaged and hard to reach groups: A new green care approach. Journal of Mental Health, 29, 350-357. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2020.1714001

Sustainable construction (SC) uses environmentally responsible practices in creating structures. This research investigated the impact of SC on the wellbeing of individuals from vulnerable and “hard to reach” groups engaged in the process.

Two related studies were conducted. Study 1 involved 93 young people (average age of 19) not involved in education, employment, or training. Study 2 involved 55 adults (average age 36) who were asylum seekers, long-term unemployed, or men with longstanding depression. All study participants worked on a group-based outdoor sustainable construction project for eight full days over an eight-week period. No specific element of the “intervention” (the SC program) was designed to directly impact mental health or social connectedness. Participants completed four brief self-report measures at baseline and near the end of the program. The assessments included (1) the Patient Health Questionnaire, a screening tool for anxiety and depression, (2) the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, (3) the Brief Resilience Scale, and (4) the Inclusion of Community in Self Scale, a social connectedness measure.

Assessment results at baseline (prior to intervention) showed that a high proportion of people in this study experienced rates of mental health and social difficulties much greater than rates within the general population for the region. Study 1 participants (the younger group) reported lower wellbeing and significantly less connectedness to the community than Study 2 participants. Average scores at post-intervention showed that participants in both groups made some gains in the global measure of overall wellbeing over time, but that the level of change was not statistically significant. In contrast, when data was analyzed just from participants from both groups who reported social connectedness, depression, anxiety or resilience difficulties at baseline, significant changes over time were found. “Given that some have argued that improving social connection should be a public health priority because of the health and wellbeing benefits associated with social connection, this effect may be particularly valuable.”

This research, which investigated the impact of SC on the wellbeing of individuals represents a “new area of outdoor participation research.” The overall results showed that individuals with poor mental health and social connection at baseline made statistically and clinically significant improvements in depression, anxiety, resilience and social connection over the intervention period. Although this study's design cannot determine why SC might be an effective intervention, or if it is more or less effective than other interventions (including traditional construction), these findings suggest that SC can be viewed as a green care approach to mental health. “Building on these findings could be important for health and social care policy for marginalised groups.”

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