The role of green and blue spaces in improving nurses’ health and wellbeing

Introduction

Nurses across the UK face various challenges in their profession, including high pressure, stress, burnout and limited work-life balance (Bernstein, 2024). These challenges could be considered stressors and, if chronic, can negatively impact nurses’ health and wellbeing (World Health Organization, 2024). A survey carried out by the Nursing Times (Ford, 2023) found that only 6% of nurse respondents stated that their mental health was ‘very good’, and only 22% stated that it was ‘good’. This incidence of poor mental health not only impacts nurses individually, but can have detrimental effects on the healthcare organisation and wider patient care (Babapour et al, 2022).

This article considers how exposure to blue and green spaces may help to improve nurses’ mental health and wellbeing.

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