Bridging gaps: Practitioners working in the outdoors and assessment tools for health and wellbeing dataset

Exposure to nature has been linked to improved mental and physical health. However, nature-based health interventions (NBHIs) are not widely integrated into mainstream healthcare due to limited empirical evidence, a lack of standardised assessment tools, few randomised controlled trials, and minimal research into practitioner perspectives. This study explored how outdoor practitioners assess the effectiveness of their interventions and the challenges they face in gaining wider acceptance for NBHIs. Using a concurrent mixed methods design, data were collected from 49 outdoor practitioners through workshops and surveys at the Australian Outdoor Health National Conference and the Outdoors NSW.ACT Master Class. Guided by Social Learning Theory, thematic analysis identified three key themes:

Navigating Barriers to Effective Measurement
Multiple Outcomes and Multiple Measures
Shaping the Future of Nature-Based Interventions This dataset contains four spreadsheets from surveys and two master classes.