{"id":{"repo_id":"uwo","oai_identifier":"oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/39985"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwo/oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/39985","repository":{"repo_id":"uwo","name":"Western University","base_url":"https://uwo.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Co-designing a Nature Prescribing Toolkit to Support Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing: Insights from a Generative Co-design Study","abstract":"Background: Co-design is a collaborative approach that engages researchers, healthcare providers, and individuals with lived experience as active partners throughout the research process, aiming to bridge the gap between evidence and practice within health systems. It has been suggested that partnerships and collaborative approaches are crucial for successfully implementing and designing nature-based interventions. Nature prescription (Nature Rx) programs are a form of nature-based health intervention that support health and wellbeing, including mental health, through spending time in and connecting with nature. While healthcare providers have expressed strong interest in prescribing nature for adolescent mental health, they report insufficient training, tools, and system supports. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore and document the use of generative codesign with healthcare providers and adolescents for adolescent-focused Nature Rx in a hospital setting. Methods: Guided by the Generative Co-design for Healthcare Innovation Framework, three partner groups were engaged, including healthcare providers across paediatric specializations, youth advisors, and the founders of the Nature Rx initiative at the CH-LHSC. Collaboratively, these research partners (n = 14) engaged in co-design discussions (total n = 25) to develop a Nature Rx toolkit to support clinical implementation. Toolkit components included a Nature Rx scripting guide and template, patient-specific case studies, and an online education module. Data were analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s (2022) guide to reflexive thematic analysis. Findings: Through the generative co-design process, a comprehensive Nature Rx toolkit was developed, including a Nature Rx script and template, patient-specific case studies, and an online education module. Findings indicate that co-design redistributed traditional research-partner power dynamics, with partners actively shaping decision-making, facilitation, and toolkit content. Partner engagement was characterized by creativity and storytelling, supported by the integration of personal experiences, clinical expertise, and values (i.e., equity and accessibility), which informed toolkit adaptations. Co-design facilitation strategies, including flexibility and responsiveness to partners’ needs, supported sustained engagement across discussions. Findings also highlight how variation in partner experience shaped the insights that informed the co-design process. Conclusion: By centering collaboration and lived experience, co-design offers a promising pathway for developing feasible, context-sensitive Nature Rx interventions and implementation supports, enhancing provider capacity and youth mental health and wellbeing within healthcare settings.","abstract_html":"Background: Co-design is a collaborative approach that engages researchers, healthcare providers, and individuals with lived experience as active partners throughout the research process, aiming to bridge the gap between evidence and practice within health systems. It has been suggested that partnerships and collaborative approaches are crucial for successfully implementing and designing nature-based interventions. Nature prescription (Nature Rx) programs are a form of nature-based health intervention that support health and wellbeing, including mental health, through spending time in and connecting with nature. While healthcare providers have expressed strong interest in prescribing nature for adolescent mental health, they report insufficient training, tools, and system supports. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore and document the use of generative codesign with healthcare providers and adolescents for adolescent-focused Nature Rx in a hospital setting. Methods: Guided by the Generative Co-design for Healthcare Innovation Framework, three partner groups were engaged, including healthcare providers across paediatric specializations, youth advisors, and the founders of the Nature Rx initiative at the CH-LHSC. Collaboratively, these research partners (n = 14) engaged in co-design discussions (total n = 25) to develop a Nature Rx toolkit to support clinical implementation. Toolkit components included a Nature Rx scripting guide and template, patient-specific case studies, and an online education module. Data were analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s (2022) guide to reflexive thematic analysis. Findings: Through the generative co-design process, a comprehensive Nature Rx toolkit was developed, including a Nature Rx script and template, patient-specific case studies, and an online education module. Findings indicate that co-design redistributed traditional research-partner power dynamics, with partners actively shaping decision-making, facilitation, and toolkit content. Partner engagement was characterized by creativity and storytelling, supported by the integration of personal experiences, clinical expertise, and values (i.e., equity and accessibility), which informed toolkit adaptations. Co-design facilitation strategies, including flexibility and responsiveness to partners’ needs, supported sustained engagement across discussions. Findings also highlight how variation in partner experience shaped the insights that informed the co-design process. Conclusion: By centering collaboration and lived experience, co-design offers a promising pathway for developing feasible, context-sensitive Nature Rx interventions and implementation supports, enhancing provider capacity and youth mental health and wellbeing within healthcare settings.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Paquet, Sophie"],"institution":"The University of Western Ontario","degree_name":"M Sc","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Health and Rehabilitation Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Gittings, Lesley"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026-06-22","date_published":"2026-06-22","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:56:05Z","subjects":["Nature Prescriptions","Mental Health","Wellbeing","Youth","Co-Design","Toolkit","Integrated Knowledge Translation"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/39985","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Gittings, Lesley"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Paquet, Sophie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-07-10T15:10:49Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2026-06-22"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The University of Western Ontario"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Health and Rehabilitation Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M Sc"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The University of Western Ontario"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Nature Prescriptions","Mental Health","Wellbeing","Youth","Co-Design","Toolkit","Integrated Knowledge Translation"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/39985"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Background: Co-design is a collaborative approach that engages researchers, healthcare providers, and individuals with lived experience as active partners throughout the research process, aiming to bridge the gap between evidence and practice within health systems. It has been suggested that partnerships and collaborative approaches are crucial for successfully implementing and designing nature-based interventions. Nature prescription (Nature Rx) programs are a form of nature-based health intervention that support health and wellbeing, including mental health, through spending time in and connecting with nature. While healthcare providers have expressed strong interest in prescribing nature for adolescent mental health, they report insufficient training, tools, and system supports. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore and document the use of generative codesign with healthcare providers and adolescents for adolescent-focused Nature Rx in a hospital setting. Methods: Guided by the Generative Co-design for Healthcare Innovation Framework, three partner groups were engaged, including healthcare providers across paediatric specializations, youth advisors, and the founders of the Nature Rx initiative at the CH-LHSC. Collaboratively, these research partners (n = 14) engaged in co-design discussions (total n = 25) to develop a Nature Rx toolkit to support clinical implementation. Toolkit components included a Nature Rx scripting guide and template, patient-specific case studies, and an online education module. Data were analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s (2022) guide to reflexive thematic analysis. Findings: Through the generative co-design process, a comprehensive Nature Rx toolkit was developed, including a Nature Rx script and template, patient-specific case studies, and an online education module. Findings indicate that co-design redistributed traditional research-partner power dynamics, with partners actively shaping decision-making, facilitation, and toolkit content. Partner engagement was characterized by creativity and storytelling, supported by the integration of personal experiences, clinical expertise, and values (i.e., equity and accessibility), which informed toolkit adaptations. Co-design facilitation strategies, including flexibility and responsiveness to partners’ needs, supported sustained engagement across discussions. Findings also highlight how variation in partner experience shaped the insights that informed the co-design process. Conclusion: By centering collaboration and lived experience, co-design offers a promising pathway for developing feasible, context-sensitive Nature Rx interventions and implementation supports, enhancing provider capacity and youth mental health and wellbeing within healthcare settings."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Co-designing a Nature Prescribing Toolkit to Support Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing: Insights from a Generative Co-design Study"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Gittings, Lesley"],"dc:creator":["Paquet, Sophie"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-07-10T15:10:49Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2026-06-22"],"dc:description.abstract":["Background: Co-design is a collaborative approach that engages researchers, healthcare providers, and individuals with lived experience as active partners throughout the research process, aiming to bridge the gap between evidence and practice within health systems. It has been suggested that partnerships and collaborative approaches are crucial for successfully implementing and designing nature-based interventions. Nature prescription (Nature Rx) programs are a form of nature-based health intervention that support health and wellbeing, including mental health, through spending time in and connecting with nature. While healthcare providers have expressed strong interest in prescribing nature for adolescent mental health, they report insufficient training, tools, and system supports. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore and document the use of generative codesign with healthcare providers and adolescents for adolescent-focused Nature Rx in a hospital setting. Methods: Guided by the Generative Co-design for Healthcare Innovation Framework, three partner groups were engaged, including healthcare providers across paediatric specializations, youth advisors, and the founders of the Nature Rx initiative at the CH-LHSC. Collaboratively, these research partners (n = 14) engaged in co-design discussions (total n = 25) to develop a Nature Rx toolkit to support clinical implementation. Toolkit components included a Nature Rx scripting guide and template, patient-specific case studies, and an online education module. Data were analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s (2022) guide to reflexive thematic analysis. Findings: Through the generative co-design process, a comprehensive Nature Rx toolkit was developed, including a Nature Rx script and template, patient-specific case studies, and an online education module. Findings indicate that co-design redistributed traditional research-partner power dynamics, with partners actively shaping decision-making, facilitation, and toolkit content. Partner engagement was characterized by creativity and storytelling, supported by the integration of personal experiences, clinical expertise, and values (i.e., equity and accessibility), which informed toolkit adaptations. Co-design facilitation strategies, including flexibility and responsiveness to partners’ needs, supported sustained engagement across discussions. Findings also highlight how variation in partner experience shaped the insights that informed the co-design process. Conclusion: By centering collaboration and lived experience, co-design offers a promising pathway for developing feasible, context-sensitive Nature Rx interventions and implementation supports, enhancing provider capacity and youth mental health and wellbeing within healthcare settings."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/39985"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["The University of Western Ontario"],"dc:subject":["Nature Prescriptions","Mental Health","Wellbeing","Youth","Co-Design","Toolkit","Integrated Knowledge Translation"],"dc:title":["Co-designing a Nature Prescribing Toolkit to Support Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing: Insights from a Generative Co-design Study"],"dc:type":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Health and Rehabilitation Sciences"],"thesis:degree_name":["M Sc"],"thesis:institution_name":["The University of Western Ontario"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:56:05Z"}