European Mental Health Awareness Week: Horizon 2020 promotes natural spaces in cities to combat loneliness

According to the EU-wide survey on loneliness  carried out by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), in 2022 more than one third of Europeans were lonely at least sometimes, and 13% were lonely most of the time.  

Recognised as a serious public health issue, loneliness is the feeling of lacking meaningful social connections and can be influenced by various factors, such as separation, job loss or illness. On the occasion of the European Mental Health Awareness Week, HaDEA spoke with Jill Litt, consortium leader of the RECETAS project at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), to learn more about initiatives undertaken to address loneliness in cities. 

Funded under Horizon 2020 and part of the European Urban Health Cluster, the Re-imagining Environments for Connection and Engagement: Testing Actions for Social Prescribing in Natural Spaces (RECETAS) project aims to analyse, understand and evaluate how nature in the city can promote social interaction, help combat loneliness and improve the health and mental wellbeing of city dwellers.  

1. Can you tell us more about the RECETAS project and its relevance in the field of mental health?  

RECETAS is an interdisciplinary initiative designed to examine nature-based social prescriptions (NBSP) for their potential to alleviate loneliness and improve quality of life by engaging people in socially organised activities connected to the natural environment. It aims to provide evidence-based solutions that can reduce the stigma of loneliness and help create stronger connections  between citizens from all backgrounds and improve their health, with nature as a key ingredient for the healing process.   

Alleviating loneliness and improving health-related quality of life represent two important targets for improving mental health and wellbeing. RECETAS’ intervention “Friends in Nature” is being tested in six communities across the globe – Barcelona, Cuenca, Helsinki, Melbourne, Marseille, and Prague.  

Solutions tested in RECETAS will provide local care professionals with nature-based solutions and will help advance urban policy and planning to promote the benefits of NBSP within and beyond the reach of the RECETAS communities.2

2. How has your project contributed to addressing social isolation and loneliness in urban settings across Europe?   

Our project is reaching people experiencing loneliness from diverse backgrounds, age, social groups and geographic areas, for instance:  

• In Marseille, the target population comprises financially vulnerable individuals. While Marseille is rich in natural resources and spaces, accessibility remains challenging, especially for people without access to public transport. 

• In Helsinki, researchers and practitioners are engaging frail older adults with disabilities in assisted living facilities. Our "Friends in Nature" programme promotes accessible and appealing nature-based activities matching their interests.  

• Our Barcelona community consists of adults who struggle with loneliness and reside in low-income areas. Participants also face challenges related to depression and pain, and other chronic diseases such as cancer and HIV, as well as age-related disabilities such as hearing loss or mobility limitations. 

• In Melbourne, the target population is refugees and those seeking asylum, both within the LGBTQIA+ community. There, the "Friends in Nature" intervention seeks to offer a platform that fosters the growth of social networks, enhancing a sense of belonging and connection to new environments, with nature as an amplifier to support the formation of these social and emotional processes. 

   

3. Have you encountered any significant challenges in implementing your project and reaching out to different urban populations facing difficulties in accessing natural and outdoors spaces,  including teen parents, immigrants, older adults, economically and linguistically isolated populations?  

There have been numerous challenges faced by each community in implementing the "Friends in Nature" intervention. In general, stigma associated with loneliness is a key challenge indicated by all cities (test sites). Additionally, the range of mental health conditions, alongside loneliness, complicates participants' attendance behaviours and their trust in the programme and its processes.    

Some of the challenges encountered on different sites included building trust among individuals with multiple vulnerabilities and allocating additional resources to tackle mobility issues for individuals with disabilities and to fund the organised activities.  

Fortunately, by design, the "Friends in Nature" intervention is well prepared to address the issues related to accessibility and affordability as well as the processes needed to build trust and foster reciprocity between participants and group facilitators. It achieves this through individual and group-tailored engagement strategies, periodic check-ins and a robust weekly interventions curriculum.    

4. How important is the support of EU funding for your project? What are the expected future outcomes of your project? 

The support of EU Funding for the RECETAS project is crucial. It has facilitated the establishment of a dynamic and innovative international consortium dedicated to addressing one of the top   public health issues of the 21^st century: loneliness.  

RECETAS has significantly contributed to introducing the study of loneliness as a health issue and proposing new approaches in the health sector, such as nature-based social prescribing (NBSP), in local and national public discourses. 

Moreover, the RECETAS project sits at the nexus of EU priorities related to the New European Bauhaus and a comprehensive approach to mental health in Europe, as it bridges nature-based solutions and health systems through NBSP.   

Background 

RECETAS is part of the Urban Health Cluster that consists of six H2020 projects (eMOTIONAL Cities, ENLIGHTENme, HEART, RECETAS, URBANOME and WELLBASED), funded under the same call of the Horizon 2020 European Framework Programme. The cluster aims at increasing the visibility for urban health research and contribute to urban health policies. 

Horizon Europe is the research and innovation programme of the EU for the period 2021-2027. 

The aims of Cluster 1 ‘Health’  include improving and protecting the health and wellbeing of citizens of all ages by generating new knowledge, developing innovative solutions and integrating where relevant a gender perspective to prevent, diagnose, monitor, treat and cure diseases. 

Horizon 2020 (H2020) was the EU’s multiannual funding programme between 2014 and 2020.