Health-promoting lifestyles among suburban women: A critical ethnographic study protocol.

Greenspaces (typically defined as publicly accessible land, primarily covered with natural vegetation such as grass, trees, and plants) play a vital role in urban and rural environments. These spaces include parks, gardens, tree-lined streets, planted lots, and urban forests []. Extensive research has demonstrated that green spaces offer numerous benefits to human health, including physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being [,]. Exposure to greenspaces is associated with reductions in stress, improvements in cardiovascular health, increases in physical activity, and enhancements in community cohesion and social capital [,]. However, much of the existing literature focuses on quantitative outcomes and often overlooks community members’ lived experiences and perceptions of how green spaces impact their health. Participatory research methods, such as photovoice, offer a unique avenue for exploring and understanding community perspectives on the relationship between greenspaces and health []. There is a growing academic and policy interest in understanding how greenspaces impact health outcomes. Yet, despite this interest, there is a notable gap in synthesizing evidence, specifically from photovoice studies, that captures community voices and actions related to greenspaces and health. These participatory studies often reveal nuanced influences of greenspace quality, accessibility, cultural significance, and environmental justice aspects on perceived health benefits or harms []. Furthermore, research focused on greenspaces in arid environments is sparse []. Environments such as arid versus non-arid regions present distinct challenges and experiences regarding green space characteristics and how they may impact health. Greenspaces in arid environments may differ significantly in vegetation, water usage, and community engagement when compared to more temperate settings, for example [,]. These ecological differences translate into distinct community experiences and challenges. For instance, arid green spaces may require resource adaptations, such as prioritizing drought-tolerant native plants, and face competing demands between ecological sustainability and community desires for lush vegetation []. Evidence on how these landscape qualities impact health and well-being, particularly from the perspective of residents in arid regions, is sparse and fragmented, with studies dispersed across disciplines and employing varied methodologies. Thus, arid communities’ unique environmental strains coupled with their localized priorities create complex dynamics in green space accessibility, use, and perceived health impacts that have yet to be comprehensively studied []. A comparative understanding of the impacts of arid and non-arid greenspaces on health would help tailor equitable and ecologically sound strategies for public health and urban planning []. Studies examining how greenspaces impact community health are more prevalent in High Income Countries (HICs), such as the Netherlands, China, and the United States []. However, there is a need for studies in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Therefore, examining where this research is conducted globally is important for identifying gaps and understanding differences in cultural contexts, communities’ lived experiences, and local priorities [,].