A Study on Users’ Perception of the Healing Power of Forest Environments: Focused on the Visitors of Bunseong Mountain
Year: 2019
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study surveyed the general characteristics and forest use characteristics of forest visitors, the healing power of natural environments and Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) to find out whether humans can feel the healing effects of natural environments.The target area of this study was the natural environments of Bunseong Mountain in Gimhae, Gyeongsangnam do, Korea.A total of 50 questionnaires were analyzed.Female visitors and those aged between 40s to 60s accounted for 62% and over 70% respectively.All the surveyed respondents answered 'yes' to the question about the healing effects of Bunseong Mountain and natural environments, and 84% of them answered that they can get 'psychological and physical healing' in Bunseong Mountain.Many respondents chose oxygen, sunlight, and landscape as a healing factor.To the questions about the specific form or conditions of the natural environments that have the healing effects, those who answered 'forest' was the highest (72%), and they described thickness of forests, gentle slope and clean air as their conditions.The average score of the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) using a 7-point Likert scale was 5.14.The results of this study indicate that respondents perceive Bunseong Mountain as a restorative environment and think that they can enjoy the healing effects of Bunseong Mountain and natural environments.
Authors: Yeong-Seon Han, Chang-Duck Koo
Institution: Chungbuk National University
Language: English
Topic: Urban Green Space and Health
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2968108052