Blue Prescriptions for Human Wellbeing

Ocean and human wellbeing are deeply intertwined with each other.

Blue Mind Theory describes the relationship between Ocean and human wellbeing, with exposure to healthy blue spaces proven to have a host of benefits. Being in, on or around the Ocean has a restorative effect on mental health and wellbeing.

To facilitate access to benefits that natural spaces can provide, social prescribing has been gaining traction since the 1980’s.  Social prescribing offers community-based interventions to support those with poor mental health, reducing pressure on local care services, and improving people’s long-term health

The Blue Mind Hub (BMH) is an Ocean Conservation Trust (OCT) blue prescribing initiative that uses Blue Mind Theory to encourage Ocean empathy, with a recognition of an individual’s role in the health of the Ocean, and the role of the Ocean in their physical and mental health.

The BMH works with health and wellbeing professionals across Plymouth, UK, to support individuals living with poor mental health. Professionals include social prescribers, psychiatrists, mental health workers and GP surgeries. Individuals who reach out to professionals through support services, can be formally referred to the OCT for BMH activities. Through this programme, the OCT support people who are prescribed to access a series of Ocean based activities, from snorkelling, coastal walking and boat trips.  These sessions are free to participants, with travel bursaries being offered to all, to break barriers that may prevent people from attending.

Participants complete surveys prior to engaging with BMH activities, at the end of each session, and at the end of the 8-week programme. The Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, UCL Wellbeing Measures toolkit and OCT generic learning outcomes are assessed throughout the programme of activities, so that the impact of Ocean based activities on individual wellbeing can be determined. Using the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing scale, mean scores prior to the programme are well below the mean score for the general UK population.   At the end of the 8-week programmes, mean scores indicate an improvement in wellbeing back to general population levels for all participants.  The UCL Wellbeing Measures toolkit is used to evaluate each of the sessions over the 8-week programme, with individuals rating agreement with statements. An average score across the programme is 4.05/5, indicating positive agreement with how the activities linked to individual’s wellbeing.

These improvements in individuals’ wellbeing throughout the course of BMH activities shows the importance of a healthy Ocean for human health and wellbeing, and how blue prescriptions can be used alongside other medical interventions to support those living with poor mental health. Scaling this type of intervention could have significant benefits to health authority budgets and provide further evidence of the societal ecosystem services that a healthy Ocean can provide.