Supporting ‘blue care’ through outdoor water-based activities: practitioner perspectives

Abstract

There is growing research into the links between blue space encounters, human health and wellbeing, and increasing interest in prescribing nature-based activities to promote physical activity, enhanced mental health and social wellbeing. However, less clear is the readiness of community-based organisations to be involved in these prescription pathways. The aim of this study was to examine perspectives of outdoor water-based practitioners concerning opportunities to engage in such blue prescription pathways, and the likely challenges of doing so. An exploratory, in-depth qualitative approach was used, including eight semi-structured interviews with outdoor, water-based activity practitioners in the south west of England and Ireland. These were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. The interviews highlighted key skillsets and material, social and affective resources required by such practitioners to enable blue care, managing social and environmental risks amongst participants of these activities to maximise opportunities for health and wellbeing, and tailoring activities to the needs and priorities of participants from diverse backgrounds. While there is potential to promote health and wellbeing through blue prescribing, there are a number of unresolved resource, quality assurance and training-related considerations to address before such interventions could be scaled up.