A qualitative approach to explore the impact of blue space on family’s health and wellbeing.

Abstract

Natural environments are progressively being examined as important settings for health promotion (Ashbullby et al. 2013). However, only some studies have looked at the health impacts of outdoor blue spaces. Evidence is emerging that blue spaces can be especially valuable for psychological wellbeing, and blue spaces commonly appear among people’s preferred areas to go to for relaxation and restoration (Ashbullby et al. 2013). Hardly any research has investigated what adults and children find fun about spending time in blue space environments or how they think spending time in these settings might influence their health outcomes. This study aims to enhance the literature on natural environments and health by employing qualitative approaches to investigate family’s experiences of holidaying in blue spaces. The proposed study will use semi-structured interviews to understand the perceived health and wellbeing impacts blue space has on parents and children. The participants will be required to have children aged between 7 to 12 years old and have purposely holidayed in localities with blue spaces. The interviews will be carried out with six families through Skype. Thematic analysis will be used to identify themes within the data. The hypothesis of the proposed study is that the findings will align with previous research highlighting the positive health effects of natural environments, however, additional effects may emerge as the focus will be on blue space and families experiences.