Open Collections

Hussaina, Hebah

University of British Columbia

There is strong evidence that spending time outdoors benefits mental health, including that of youth. Time spent outdoors is associated with lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Secondary schools play a key role in supporting youths’ healthy development and are well positioned to promote initiatives that strengthen mental health, including facilitating opportunities for time spent outdoors. Yet, there remains a paucity of evidence to guide secondary schools in better supporting such initiatives. The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences of youth located in the Greater Vancouver Metropolitan District (GVMD), of British Columbia, Canada, who engage in or would like to engage in outdoor time at secondary schools as a mental health promotion strategy. This qualitative study utilized semi-structured interviews and optional photovoice methods to gather data from youth who attend public schools in GVMD. Participants took photos or verbally identified and described areas in their school environment during either in-person or virtual interviews and explored how youth currently engage with their school's outdoor spaces, identified facilitators and barriers for outdoor engagement, and provided recommendations to extend opportunities for time outdoors. Thematic analysis was used to generate themes grounded in participant’s lived experiences. A total of 15 youth (aged 16-17 years) from five different GVMD school districts participated in this study. Three main themes with multiple sub-themes were identified: 1) Importance of outdoor time for youth (e.g., health contributions), 2) Current outdoor time opportunities in secondary schools and factors affecting engagement in these opportunities (e.g., weather as a barrier for going outdoors), and 3) Ideas for secondary school initiatives to increase time outdoors (e.g., space changes to the outdoor environment). Representative participant quotes and/or photographs were highlighted to serve as exemplars for each theme. Outdoor time provides several mental health benefits for youth. Investing in initiatives which promote positive mental health outcomes within secondary schools are a public health priority and hold the potential to support healthy trajectories throughout the life course. Schools offer a venue for promoting youth mental health and time outdoors is a promising strategy that could be better leveraged in this setting.

Text

2024-04-11

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/87758

Women+ and Children’s Health Sciences

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/