In an increasingly urbanised world where mental health is currently in crisis, interventions\nto increase human engagement and connection with the natural environment are one of the fastest\ngrowing, most widely accessible, and cost-effective ways of improving human wellbeing. This study\naimed to provide an evaluation of a smartphone app-based wellbeing intervention. In a randomised\ncontrolled trial study design, the app prompted 582 adults, including a subgroup of adults classified\nby baseline scores on the Recovering Quality of Life scale as having a common mental health problem\n(n = 148), to notice the good things about urban nature (intervention condition) or built spaces (active\ncontrol). There were statistically significant and sustained improvements in wellbeing at one-month\nfollow-up. Importantly, in the noticing urban nature condition, compared to a built space control,\nimprovements in quality of life reached statistical significance for all adults and clinical significance\nfor those classified as having a mental health difficulty. This improvement in wellbeing was partly\nexplained by significant increases in nature connectedness and positive affect. This study provides\nthe first controlled experimental evidence that noticing the good things about urban nature has strong\nclinical potential as a wellbeing intervention and social prescription.
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