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"We could do more": exploring violance prevention measures in German outpatient primary care - a qualitative study.

Authors: Mache S, Bernburg M, Würtenberger A, Groneberg DA, Harth V
Journal: BMC primary care
mental health psychology open access

Abstract

Population aging stands as one of the most prominent global demographic trends (). In China, the proportion of older adults keeps rising due to longer life expectancy and declining birth rates. Aging is often accompanied by deteriorating physical functions, increased psychological stress and reduced quality of life. These changes create greater demands for health-supporting outdoor spaces (). Against this backdrop, rehabilitative landscapes have gained wide attention for their capacity to boost physical activity, relieve mental stress and improve overall well-being. Exploring evidence-based design strategies for rehabilitative landscapes has become a key research topic in landscape architecture and public health. Existing studies have proven that natural environments help alleviate stress and improve mental health (). Nevertheless, most current research focuses solely on visual landscape features. The combined effects of visual and auditory stimuli remain understudied, particularly for older adults. Meanwhile, objective physiological evidence supporting the restorative functions of therapeutic landscapes is still insufficient (). These research gaps hinder the formulation of evidence-based design guidelines for age-friendly therapeutic landscapes. Landsense refers to landscape perception. As the perceiver in landscape spaces, humans receive external environmental stimuli. These stimuli trigger complex psychological and physiological changes, and further guide corresponding behaviors (). It reflects the interactive relationship between people and landscape environments. Landsenses theory emphasizes the systematic and dynamic nature of human perception. It places humans at the core of research and explores how environments regulate mental states through multiple sensory pathways, including vision, hearing and smell. This theory offers a crucial perspective for explaining how rehabilitative landscapes work. A landscape is not merely a static physical space. Instead, it acts as a dynamic medium to facilitate physical and mental recovery via integrated sensory experiences ().