Asset Publisher

Research

RECETAS

Re-imagining Environments for Connection and Engagement: Testing Actions for Social Prescribing in Natural Spaces

RECETAS project
Photo: Alexandr Podvalny / Pexels
Duration
01/03/2021 - 28/02/2026
Coordinator
Jill Litt
Funded by
European Union - Horizon 2020

Re-imagining Environments for Connection and Engagement: Testing Actions for Social Prescribing in Natural Spaces (RECETAS) will address loneliness, a modifiable health condition that is known to shorten one´s lifespan and may be as dangerous to one’s health as smoking or obesity. In Europe alone, and before the COVID-19 pandemic, over 75 million European adults reported meeting with family and friends at most once per month and 30 million European adults frequently felt lonely. Loneliness knows no geographic, economic, cultural, and social boundaries and affects all age groups.

For urban dwellers, nearby nature, with social structures, can improve health and mental well-being and reduce loneliness. Even under the extraordinary circumstances of COVID-19, people need time in nature for its healing benefits and its role in allowing people to interact in nature. Investments in nature-based solutions (NBS) and green infrastructure (GI) that address rapid urbanization and its adverse consequences on environmental systems in our cities, can be harnessed for health and well-being even in times of health emergencies.

RECETAS explores loneliness through a transdisciplinary lens, integrating social, behavioral, health, and natural sciences, and is grounded in participatory principles. It will use randomized controlled trials (RCT) and other epidemiologic, anthropological, and health economic methods to test socially- and culturally-innovative nature-based social prescribing (NBSP) in six cities in Europe, Latin America, and Australia.

The approach aims to improve upon real-world policy and practice to reduce loneliness by connecting people experiencing loneliness with helping professionals and extensive investments in NBS and GI, while alleviating pressures on stressed health care systems. If successful, it will systematically reduce loneliness, promote and sustain vibrant, socially-connected communities, and reduce health inequalities by connecting to nature in meaningful ways.

Total Funding

5,403,657.50 €

Our Team

Coordinator

ISGlobal Team

See More

Other projects

See Past Projects

CHAI

Cardiovascular Health effects of Air pollution in Andhra Pradesh, India

EARLY-ADAPT

Signs of Early Adaptation to Climate Change

ACTIVID

Impact of the health crisis due to COVID-19 on Physical Activity and Mental Health in Spain

REMEDHY

Researching Environments that Magnify Health Everyday

ELHNA

Exposures to light pollution and heat, and neurodevelopment in adolescents. Project Code: PI20/01695

ONES

Fine Particle Matter, Fetal Growth, and Neurodevelopment: Examining Critical Windows of Susceptibility

CATALYSE

Climate Action To Advance HeaLthY Societies in Europe

TwinAir

Digital Twins Enabled Indoor Air Quality Management for Healthy Living

TÀNIA

Participación, tecnología y convivencia para reducir el ruido en las plazas de Barcelona