Public Urban Green Spaces’ Visiting Habits and Perception Regarding Their Health Benefits in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia

Girma Alemayehu Beyene; Emawayish Nigussie Borishe

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11

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Public Urban Green Spaces’ Visiting Habits and Perception Regarding Their Health Benefits in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia

Girma Alemayehu Beyene, Emawayish Nigussie Borishe

Published in International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy (Volume 9, Issue 3)

Received: 8 March 2021 Accepted: 21 May 2021 Published: 31 May 2021

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Abstract

Physical structure and activities undertaken at green spaces provide substantial health, social, environmental, psychological, and economic benefits to residents of an urban area. Study regarding the health benefits of green spaces in developing countries is very limited. Addis Ababa is the capital and the largest city in Ethiopia and not many studies on green spaces are available. Thus, this community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 204 residents of Addis Ababa city. A multistage sampling technique was used, the sample size was allocated proportionally and selected by a simple random sampling technique. Data were coded and entered into Epi Info ™ 7 and exported to SPSS version 25 for cleaning and analysis. Results showed that only 30% of the respondents visited green spaces in the last 12 months. The common reasons for the visit were to adore nature (30.4%), refresh mind (25%), and “breathe quality air” (20.6%). Although most study participants were aware of the appealing psychological benefits of green spaces, only 55.9% of them had a positive perception regarding the health benefits of green spaces. Compared with the negative perception those with positive perception were more than twice more likely to visit green spaces (AOR: 2.51; 95% CI: 1.33-4.77). The study concluded that in addition to expanding the green spaces efforts have to be directed to solving challenges that discourage visits, increasing awareness, and improving the perception of the community regarding added health benefits of green spaces.

Published in	International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy (Volume 9, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11
Page(s)	50-58
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Urban Green-Space, Parks, Perception, Health

References

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APA Style

Girma Alemayehu Beyene, Emawayish Nigussie Borishe. (2021). Public Urban Green Spaces’ Visiting Habits and Perception Regarding Their Health Benefits in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia. International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 9(3), 50-58. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11

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ACS Style

Girma Alemayehu Beyene; Emawayish Nigussie Borishe. Public Urban Green Spaces’ Visiting Habits and Perception Regarding Their Health Benefits in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia. Int. J. Environ. Prot. Policy 2021, 9(3), 50-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11

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AMA Style

Girma Alemayehu Beyene, Emawayish Nigussie Borishe. Public Urban Green Spaces’ Visiting Habits and Perception Regarding Their Health Benefits in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia. Int J Environ Prot Policy. 2021;9(3):50-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11,
  author = {Girma Alemayehu Beyene and Emawayish Nigussie Borishe},
  title = {Public Urban Green Spaces’ Visiting Habits and Perception Regarding Their Health Benefits in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {50-58},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepp.20210903.11},
  abstract = {Physical structure and activities undertaken at green spaces provide substantial health, social, environmental, psychological, and economic benefits to residents of an urban area. Study regarding the health benefits of green spaces in developing countries is very limited. Addis Ababa is the capital and the largest city in Ethiopia and not many studies on green spaces are available. Thus, this community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 204 residents of Addis Ababa city. A multistage sampling technique was used, the sample size was allocated proportionally and selected by a simple random sampling technique. Data were coded and entered into Epi Info ™ 7 and exported to SPSS version 25 for cleaning and analysis. Results showed that only 30% of the respondents visited green spaces in the last 12 months. The common reasons for the visit were to adore nature (30.4%), refresh mind (25%), and “breathe quality air” (20.6%). Although most study participants were aware of the appealing psychological benefits of green spaces, only 55.9% of them had a positive perception regarding the health benefits of green spaces. Compared with the negative perception those with positive perception were more than twice more likely to visit green spaces (AOR: 2.51; 95% CI: 1.33-4.77). The study concluded that in addition to expanding the green spaces efforts have to be directed to solving challenges that discourage visits, increasing awareness, and improving the perception of the community regarding added health benefits of green spaces.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Public Urban Green Spaces’ Visiting Habits and Perception Regarding Their Health Benefits in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia
AU  - Girma Alemayehu Beyene
AU  - Emawayish Nigussie Borishe
Y1  - 2021/05/31
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
SP  - 50
EP  - 58
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7536
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11
AB  - Physical structure and activities undertaken at green spaces provide substantial health, social, environmental, psychological, and economic benefits to residents of an urban area. Study regarding the health benefits of green spaces in developing countries is very limited. Addis Ababa is the capital and the largest city in Ethiopia and not many studies on green spaces are available. Thus, this community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 204 residents of Addis Ababa city. A multistage sampling technique was used, the sample size was allocated proportionally and selected by a simple random sampling technique. Data were coded and entered into Epi Info ™ 7 and exported to SPSS version 25 for cleaning and analysis. Results showed that only 30% of the respondents visited green spaces in the last 12 months. The common reasons for the visit were to adore nature (30.4%), refresh mind (25%), and “breathe quality air” (20.6%). Although most study participants were aware of the appealing psychological benefits of green spaces, only 55.9% of them had a positive perception regarding the health benefits of green spaces. Compared with the negative perception those with positive perception were more than twice more likely to visit green spaces (AOR: 2.51; 95% CI: 1.33-4.77). The study concluded that in addition to expanding the green spaces efforts have to be directed to solving challenges that discourage visits, increasing awareness, and improving the perception of the community regarding added health benefits of green spaces.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Girma Alemayehu Beyene

Department of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia
Emawayish Nigussie Borishe

Department of Environment and Climate Change Management, Ethiopian Civil Service University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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APA Style

Girma Alemayehu Beyene, Emawayish Nigussie Borishe. (2021). Public Urban Green Spaces’ Visiting Habits and Perception Regarding Their Health Benefits in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia. International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy, 9(3), 50-58. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11

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ACS Style

Girma Alemayehu Beyene; Emawayish Nigussie Borishe. Public Urban Green Spaces’ Visiting Habits and Perception Regarding Their Health Benefits in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia. Int. J. Environ. Prot. Policy 2021, 9(3), 50-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11

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AMA Style

Girma Alemayehu Beyene, Emawayish Nigussie Borishe. Public Urban Green Spaces’ Visiting Habits and Perception Regarding Their Health Benefits in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia. Int J Environ Prot Policy. 2021;9(3):50-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11,
  author = {Girma Alemayehu Beyene and Emawayish Nigussie Borishe},
  title = {Public Urban Green Spaces’ Visiting Habits and Perception Regarding Their Health Benefits in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {50-58},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijepp.20210903.11},
  abstract = {Physical structure and activities undertaken at green spaces provide substantial health, social, environmental, psychological, and economic benefits to residents of an urban area. Study regarding the health benefits of green spaces in developing countries is very limited. Addis Ababa is the capital and the largest city in Ethiopia and not many studies on green spaces are available. Thus, this community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 204 residents of Addis Ababa city. A multistage sampling technique was used, the sample size was allocated proportionally and selected by a simple random sampling technique. Data were coded and entered into Epi Info ™ 7 and exported to SPSS version 25 for cleaning and analysis. Results showed that only 30% of the respondents visited green spaces in the last 12 months. The common reasons for the visit were to adore nature (30.4%), refresh mind (25%), and “breathe quality air” (20.6%). Although most study participants were aware of the appealing psychological benefits of green spaces, only 55.9% of them had a positive perception regarding the health benefits of green spaces. Compared with the negative perception those with positive perception were more than twice more likely to visit green spaces (AOR: 2.51; 95% CI: 1.33-4.77). The study concluded that in addition to expanding the green spaces efforts have to be directed to solving challenges that discourage visits, increasing awareness, and improving the perception of the community regarding added health benefits of green spaces.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Public Urban Green Spaces’ Visiting Habits and Perception Regarding Their Health Benefits in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia
AU  - Girma Alemayehu Beyene
AU  - Emawayish Nigussie Borishe
Y1  - 2021/05/31
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy
SP  - 50
EP  - 58
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7536
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20210903.11
AB  - Physical structure and activities undertaken at green spaces provide substantial health, social, environmental, psychological, and economic benefits to residents of an urban area. Study regarding the health benefits of green spaces in developing countries is very limited. Addis Ababa is the capital and the largest city in Ethiopia and not many studies on green spaces are available. Thus, this community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 204 residents of Addis Ababa city. A multistage sampling technique was used, the sample size was allocated proportionally and selected by a simple random sampling technique. Data were coded and entered into Epi Info ™ 7 and exported to SPSS version 25 for cleaning and analysis. Results showed that only 30% of the respondents visited green spaces in the last 12 months. The common reasons for the visit were to adore nature (30.4%), refresh mind (25%), and “breathe quality air” (20.6%). Although most study participants were aware of the appealing psychological benefits of green spaces, only 55.9% of them had a positive perception regarding the health benefits of green spaces. Compared with the negative perception those with positive perception were more than twice more likely to visit green spaces (AOR: 2.51; 95% CI: 1.33-4.77). The study concluded that in addition to expanding the green spaces efforts have to be directed to solving challenges that discourage visits, increasing awareness, and improving the perception of the community regarding added health benefits of green spaces.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

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