TY - JOUR

T1 - GroundsWell: Community-engaged and data-informed systems transformation of Urban Green and Blue Space for population health – a new initiative

AU - Hunter, Ruth F.

AU - Rodgers, Sarah E.

AU - Hilton, Jeremy

AU - Clarke, Mike

AU - Garcia, Leandro

AU - Ward-Thompson, Catherine

AU - Geary, Rebecca

AU - Green, Mark A.

AU - O'Neil, Ciaran

AU - Longo, Alberto

AU - Lovell, Rebecca

AU - Nurse, Alex

AU - Wheeler, Benedict W.

AU - Clement, Sarah

AU - Porroche-Escudero, Ana

AU - Mitchell, Rich

AU - Barr, Ben

AU - Barry, John

AU - Bell, Sarah

AU - Bryan, Dominic

AU - Buchan, Ian

AU - Butters, Olly

AU - Clemens, Tom

AU - Clewley, Natallie

AU - Corcoran, Rhiannon

AU - Elliott, Lewis

AU - Ellis, Geraint

AU - Guell, Cornelia

AU - Jurek-Loughrey, Anna

AU - Kee, Frank

AU - Maguire, Aideen

AU - Maskell, Simon

AU - Mutargh, Brendan

AU - Smith, Grahame

AU - Taylor, Timothy

AU - Jepson, Ruth

AU - -, GroundsWell Consortiun

PY - 2022/9/20

Y1 - 2022/9/20

N2 - Natural environments, such as parks, woodlands and lakes, have positive impacts on health and wellbeing. Urban Green and Blue Spaces (UGBS), and the activities that take place in them, can significantly influence the health outcomes of all communities, and reduce health inequalities. Improving access and quality of UGBS needs understanding of the range of systems (e.g. planning, transport, environment, community) in which UGBS are located. UGBS offers an ideal exemplar for testing systems innovations as it reflects place-based and whole society processes, with potential to reduce non-communicable disease (NCD) risk and associated social inequalities in health. UGBS can impact multiple behavioural and environmental aetiological pathways. However, the systems which desire, design, develop, and deliver UGBS are fragmented and siloed, with ineffective mechanisms for data generation, knowledge exchange and mobilisation. Further, UGBS need to be co-designed with and by those whose health could benefit most from them, so they are appropriate, accessible, valued and used well.This paper describes a major new prevention research programme and partnership, GroundsWell, which aims to transform UGBS-related systems by improving how we plan, design, evaluate and manage UGBS so that it benefits all communities, especially those who are in poorest health. We use a broad definition of health to include physical, mental, social wellbeing and quality of life. Our objectives are to transform systems so that UGBS are planned, developed, implemented, maintained and evaluated with our communities and data systems to enhance health and reduce inequalities.GroundsWell will use interdisciplinary, problem-solving approaches to accelerate and optimise community collaborations among citizens, users, implementers, policymakers and researchers to impact research, policy, practice and active citizenship. GroundsWell will be shaped and developed in three pioneer cities (Belfast, Edinburgh, Liverpool) and their regional contexts, with embedded translational mechanisms to ensure that outputs and impact have UK-wide and international application.

AB - Natural environments, such as parks, woodlands and lakes, have positive impacts on health and wellbeing. Urban Green and Blue Spaces (UGBS), and the activities that take place in them, can significantly influence the health outcomes of all communities, and reduce health inequalities. Improving access and quality of UGBS needs understanding of the range of systems (e.g. planning, transport, environment, community) in which UGBS are located. UGBS offers an ideal exemplar for testing systems innovations as it reflects place-based and whole society processes, with potential to reduce non-communicable disease (NCD) risk and associated social inequalities in health. UGBS can impact multiple behavioural and environmental aetiological pathways. However, the systems which desire, design, develop, and deliver UGBS are fragmented and siloed, with ineffective mechanisms for data generation, knowledge exchange and mobilisation. Further, UGBS need to be co-designed with and by those whose health could benefit most from them, so they are appropriate, accessible, valued and used well.This paper describes a major new prevention research programme and partnership, GroundsWell, which aims to transform UGBS-related systems by improving how we plan, design, evaluate and manage UGBS so that it benefits all communities, especially those who are in poorest health. We use a broad definition of health to include physical, mental, social wellbeing and quality of life. Our objectives are to transform systems so that UGBS are planned, developed, implemented, maintained and evaluated with our communities and data systems to enhance health and reduce inequalities.GroundsWell will use interdisciplinary, problem-solving approaches to accelerate and optimise community collaborations among citizens, users, implementers, policymakers and researchers to impact research, policy, practice and active citizenship. GroundsWell will be shaped and developed in three pioneer cities (Belfast, Edinburgh, Liverpool) and their regional contexts, with embedded translational mechanisms to ensure that outputs and impact have UK-wide and international application.

KW - health inequalities

KW - environment

KW - Urban areas

KW - Green spaces

KW - Blue spaces

KW - complex systems

KW - trandisciplinary

KW - interdisciplinary

KW - UK

KW - research collaboration

U2 - 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.18175.1

DO - 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.18175.1

M3 - Letter

VL - 7

JO - Wellcome Open Research

JF - Wellcome Open Research

SN - 2398-502X

M1 - 237

ER -