Dr Rebecca Lovell
Senior Lecturer, Biodiversity, Health and Policy
R.Lovell@exeter.ac.uk
01872 258 173
Knowledge Spa
University of Exeter Medical School, Knowledge Spa, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, TR1 3HD
Overview
Becca is a Senior Lecturer at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health, WHO Collaborating Centre on Natural Environments and Health at the University of Exeter Medical School.
Becca is member of a number of boards and scientific advisory commitees including Cornwall and Isle of Scilly Local Nature Partnership (Health Champion).
She focuses on synthesising and translating evidence of the links between natural environments, of all kinds, and health for policy and practice and has undertaken work with and for international, national and local governmental bodies, NGOs, and community groups.
Becca is currently working on how better understandings of social and health values of natural environments could inform decision making, systems around delivery of health and environmental infrastructure and interventions, and is contributing to multiple studies on the effectiveness and implementation of green social prescribing.
Current projects include:
Evaluation of the Green Social Prescribing Pilots
RCT of green social prescribing
Qualifications
PhD Public Health
FHEA and PCAP
MA (hons) Sociology
Links
Research group links
Publications
Journal articles
White M, Weeks A, Hooper T, Bleakley L, Cracknell D, Lovell R, Jefferson R (In Press). Marine wildlife as an important component of coastal visits: the role of biodiversity and behaviour. Marine Policy, In press
Bell S, Phoenix C, Lovell R, Wheeler B (In Press). Using GPS and geo-narratives: a methodological approach
for understanding and situating everyday green space
encounters. Area Abstract.
Alcock I, White M, Wheeler B, Lovell R, Higgins S, Osborne N, Husk K (In Press). What Accounts for 'England's green and pleasant land'? a panel data analysis of mental health and land cover types in rural England. Labdscape and Urban PLanning
Mizen A, Thompson DA, Watkins A, Akbari A, Garrett JK, Geary R, Lovell R, Lyons RA, Nieuwenhuijsen M, Parker SC, et al (2024). The use of Enhanced Vegetation Index for assessing access to different types of green space in epidemiological studies. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol Abstract. Author URL.
Geary RS, Thompson D, Mizen A, Akbari A, Garrett JK, Rowney FM, Watkins A, Lyons RA, Stratton G, Lovell R, et al (2023). Ambient greenness, access to local green spaces, and subsequent mental health: a 10-year longitudinal dynamic panel study of 2·3 million adults in Wales. Lancet Planet Health, 7(10), e809-e818. Abstract. Author URL.
Geary RS, Thompson DA, Garrett JK, Mizen A, Rowney FM, Song J, White MP, Lovell R, Watkins A, Lyons RA, et al (2023). Green–blue space exposure changes and impact on individual-level well-being and mental health: a population-wide dynamic longitudinal panel study with linked survey data. Public Health Research, 1-176. Abstract.
Garside R, Lovell R, Husk K, Sowman G, Chapman E (2023). Nature prescribing. The BMJ, 383
White MP, Hartig T, Martin L, Pahl S, van den Berg AE, Wells NM, Costongs C, Dzhambov AM, Elliott LR, Godfrey A, et al (2023). Nature-based biopsychosocial resilience: an integrative theoretical framework for research on nature and health. Environment International, 181 Abstract.
Alvarado M, Lovell R, Guell C, Taylor T, Fullam J, Garside R, Zandersen M, Wheeler B (2023). Street trees and mental health: developing systems thinking-informed hypotheses using causal loop diagraming. Ecology and Society, 28(2).
Alvarado M, Garrett J, Fullam J, Lovell R, Guell C, Taylor T, Garside R, Zandersen M, Wheeler BW (2023). Using causal loop diagrams to develop evaluative research propositions: opportunities and challenges in applications to nature‐based solutions. System Dynamics Review Abstract.
Garrett JK, Rowney FM, White MP, Lovell R, Fry RJ, Akbari A, Geary R, Lyons RA, Mizen A, Nieuwenhuijsen M, et al (2023). Visiting nature is associated with lower socioeconomic inequalities in well-being in Wales. Scientific Reports, 13(1). Abstract.
Rahtz E, Bell SL, Nurse A, Wheeler BW, Guell C, Elliott LR, Thompson CW, McDougall CW, Lovell R (2023). What is known about what works in community-involved decision-making relating to urban green and blue spaces? a realist review protocol. Systematic Reviews, 12(1). Abstract.
Cooper C, Booth A, Husk K, Lovell R, Frost J, Schauberger U, Britten N, Garside R (2022). A Tailored Approach: a model for literature searching in complex systematic reviews. JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SCIENCE Author URL.
Jones L, Anderson S, Læssøe J, Banzhaf E, Jensen A, Bird DN, Miller J, Hutchins MG, Yang J, Garrett J, et al (2022). A typology for urban Green Infrastructure to guide multifunctional planning of nature-based solutions. Nature-Based Solutions, 2, 100041-100041.
Hunter RF, Rodgers SE, Hilton J, Clarke M, Garcia L, Ward Thompson C, Geary R, Green MA, O'Neill C, Longo A, et al (2022). GroundsWell: Community-engaged and data-informed systems transformation of Urban Green and Blue Space for population health – a new initiative. Wellcome Open Research, 7, 237-237. Abstract.
Geary RS, Wheeler B, Lovell R, Jepson R, Hunter R, Rodgers S (2021). A call to action: Improving urban green spaces to reduce health inequalities exacerbated by COVID-19. Prev Med, 145 Abstract. Author URL.
Leonelli S, Lovell R, Wheeler B, Fleming L, Williams H (2021). From FAIR Data to Fair Data Use: Methodological Data Fairness in Health-Related Social Media Research. Big Data and Society
Thompson DA, Nieuwenhuijsen M, White J, Lovell R, White M, Lyons RA, Stratton G, Akbari A, Geary R, Wheeler B, et al (2020). Green-Blue Spaces and Mental Health: a Longitudinal Data Linkage Study. International Journal for Population Data Science, 5(5).
Rodgers SE, Rowney F, Thompson D, Mizen A, White M, Lovell R, Fry R, Watkins A, Wheeler B, Akbari A, et al (2020). Is Wellbeing Associated with Time Spent in Nature?. International Journal for Population Data Science, 5(5).
de Bell S, White M, Griffiths A, Darlow A, Taylor T, Wheeler B, Lovell R (2020). Spending time in the garden is positively associated with health and wellbeing: Results from a national survey in England. Landscape and Urban Planning, 200, 103836-103836.
Husk K, Blockley K, Lovell R, Bethel A, Lang I, Byng R, Garside R (2020). What approaches to social prescribing work, for whom, and in what circumstances? a realist review. Health and Social Care in the Community, 28(2), 309-324. Abstract.
Mizen A, Song J, Fry R, Akbari A, Berridge D, Parker SC, Johnson R, Lovell R, Lyons RA, Nieuwenhuijsen M, et al (2019). Longitudinal access and exposure to green-blue spaces and individual-level mental health and well-being: protocol for a longitudinal, population-wide record-linked natural experiment. BMJ Open, 9(4). Abstract. Author URL.
Shanahan DF, Astell-Burt T, Barber EA, Brymer E, Cox DTC, Dean J, Depledge M, Fuller RA, Hartig T, Irvine KN, et al (2019). Nature-Based Interventions for Improving Health and Wellbeing: the Purpose, the People and the Outcomes. Sports (Basel), 7(6). Abstract. Author URL.
Song J, Fry R, Mizen A, Akbari A, Wheeler B, White J, White M, Lovell R, Parker C, Berridge D, et al (2018). Association between blue and green space availability with mental health and wellbeing. International Journal for Population Data Science, 3(4).
Flies EJ, Skelly C, Lovell R, Breed MF (2018). Cities, biodiversity and health: we need healthy urban microbiome initiatives. Cities & Health, 2, 143-150.
Husk K, Lovell R, Garside R (2018). Prescribing gardening and conservation activities for health and wellbeing in older people. Maturitas, 110, A1-A2. Author URL.
Cooper C, Lovell R, Husk K, Booth A, Garside R (2018). Supplementary search methods were more effective and offered better value than bibliographic database searching: a case study from public health and environmental enhancement. Res Synth Methods, 9(2), 195-223. Abstract. Author URL.
Lovell R, Husk K, Blockley KV, Bethel A, Bloomfield D, Sara W, Pearson MGN, Lang IA, Byng R, Garside R, et al (2017). A realist review and collaborative development of what works in the social prescribing process. Lancet, 390, s62-s62.
Bell SL, Westley M, Lovell R, Wheeler BW (2017). Everyday green space and experienced wellbeing: the significance of wildlife encounters. Landscape Research
Ohly H, Gentry S, Wigglesworth R, Bethel A, Lovell R, Garside R (2016). A systematic review of the health and well-being impacts of school gardening: synthesis of quantitative and qualitative evidence. BMC Public Health, 16 Abstract. Author URL.
Ohly H, Gentry S, Wigglesworth R, Bethel A, Lovell R, Garside R (2016). Erratum to: a systematic review of the health and well-being impacts of school gardening: synthesis of quantitative and qualitative evidence. BMC Public Health, 16(1). Author URL.
Frayling TM, Tyrrell J, Jones SE, Beaumont R, Astley CM, Lovell R, Yaghootkar H, Tuke M, Ruth KS, Freathy RM, et al (2016). Height, body mass index, and socioeconomic status: mendelian randomisation study in UK Biobank. British Medical Journal
Husk K, Lovell R, Cooper C, Stahl-Timmins W, Garside R (2016). Participation in environmental enhancement and conservation activities for health and well-being in adults: a review of quantitative and qualitative evidence. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2016(5). Abstract.
Husk K, Blockley K, Lovell R, Bethel A, Bloomfield D, Warber S, Pearson M, Lang I, Byng R, Garside R, et al (2016). What approaches to social prescribing work, for whom, and in what circumstances? a protocol for a realist review. Syst Rev, 5 Abstract. Author URL.
Wheeler BW, Lovell R, Higgins SL, White MP, Alcock I, Osborne NJ, Husk K, Sabel CE, Depledge MH (2015). Beyond greenspace: an ecological study of population general health and indicators of natural environment type and quality. Int J Health Geogr, 14 Abstract. Author URL.
Bell SL, Phoenix C, Lovell R, Wheeler BW (2015). Seeking everyday wellbeing: the coast as a therapeutic landscape. Social Science and Medicine, 142, 56-67. Abstract.
Lovell R, Husk K, Cooper C, Stahl-Timmins W, Garside R (2015). Understanding how environmental enhancement and conservation activities may benefit health and wellbeing: a systematic review. BMC Public Health, 15 Abstract. Author URL.
Alcock I, White MP, Lovell R, Higgins SL, Osborne NJ, Husk K, Wheeler BW (2015). What accounts for ‘England’s green and pleasant land’? a panel data analysis of mental health and land cover types in rural England. Landscape and Urban Planning, 142, 38-46.
Lovell R, Wheeler BW, Higgins SL, Irvine KN, Depledge MH (2014). A systematic review of the health and well-being benefits of biodiverse environments. J Toxicol Environ Health B Crit Rev, 17(1), 1-20. Abstract. Author URL.
Clark NE, Lovell R, Wheeler BW, Higgins SL, Depledge MH, Norris K (2014). Biodiversity, cultural pathways, and human health: a framework. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 29(4), 198-204. Abstract.
Lovell R, Husk K, Cooper C, Stahl-Timmins W, Garside R (2014). Environmental conservation activities for health: building on systematic review methods to consider a disparate, dispersed, and limited evidence base. The Lancet, 384, S46-S46.
Bell SL, Phoenix C, Lovell R, Wheeler BW (2014). Green space, health and wellbeing: Making space for individual agency. Health and Place Abstract.
Bell S, Phoenix C, Lovell R, Wheeler B (2014). Green space, health and wellbeing: making space for individual agency. Health & Place, 30, 287-292. Abstract.
Lovell R, Husk K, Bethel A, Garside R (2014). What are the health and well-being impacts of community gardening for adults and children: a mixed method systematic review protocol. Environmental Evidence, 3(1).
Husk K, Lovell R, Cooper C, Garside R (2013). Participation in environmental enhancement and conservation activities for health and well-being in adults. Author URL.
Lovell R, Roe J (2009). Physical and mental health benefits of participation in forest school. Countryside Recreation, 17, 20-23.
Chapters
Bell SL, Hollenbeck J, Lovell R, White M, Depledge M (2019). The shadows of risk and inequality within salutogenic coastal waters. In Foley R, Kearns R, Kistemann T, Wheeler B (Eds.) Hydrophilia Unbounded: Blue Space, Health and Place, Routledge Taylor and Francis.
White M, Lovell R, Wheeler B, Pahl S, Voelker S, Depledge M (2017). Blue Landscapes and Public Health. In van den Bosch M, Bird W (Eds.) Landscape and Public Health, Oxford OU.
Horwitz P, Kretsch C, Jenkins A, Rahim A, Burls A, Campbell K, Carter M, Henwood W, Lovell R, Malone-Lee L, et al (2015). Contribution of biodiversity and green spaces to mental and physical fitness, and cultural dimensions of health. In (Ed) Connecting Global Priorities: Biodiversity and Human Health a State of Knowledge Review, WHO CBD. Abstract.
Conferences
Garrett J, Wheeler B, Akbari A, Fry R, Geary R, Lovell R, Lyons RA, Mizen A, Nieuwenhuijsen M, Rowney F, et al (2021). Association between greenspace and time spent in nature with subjective wellbeing: a cross-sectional data linkage study. Author URL.
Thompson DA, Fry R, Watkins A, Mizen A, Akbari A, Garrett J, Geary R, Lovell R, Lyons RA, Nieuwenhuijsen M, et al (2021). Exposure to green-blue spaces and mental health: a retrospective e-cohort study in Wales. Author URL.
Tyrrell J, Jones SE, Beaumont R, Astley C, Lovell R, Yaghootkar H, Tuke M, Ruth KS, Freathy RM, Hirschhorn JN, et al (2016). Higher BMI Leads to Lower Socioeconomic Status: a Mendelian Randomisation Study in the UK Biobank. Author URL.
Wheeler. B, Higgins S, Lovell R, White M, Alcock I, Husk K, Osborne N, Sabel C, Depledge M (2014). Beyond Greenspace: Natural Environments for Health and Wellbeing.
Reports
Garside RUTH, Lovell REBECCA, Hunt HARRIET (2023). PREVENTING AND TACKLING MENTAL ILL HEALTH THROUGH GREEN SOCIAL PRESCRIBING PROJECT EVALUATION. INTERIM REPORT. Defra, Defra.
Fullam J, Hunt H, Lovell R, Husk K, Byng R, Richards D, Bloomfield D, Warber S, Tarrant M, Lloyd J, et al (2021). A handbook for Nature on Prescription to promote mental health. University of Exeter.
Lovell R, Depledge M, Maxwell S (2018). Health and the natural environment: a review of evidence, policy, practice and opportunities for the future. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. 160 pages. Abstract.
Napier D, Depledge MH, Knipper M, Lovell R, Ponarin E, Sanabria E, Thomas F (2017). Culture matters: using a cultural contexts of health approach to enhance policy-making. World Health Organisation, Copenhagen, World Health Organisation. Abstract.
Maxwell S, Lovell R (2017). Evidence statement on the links between natural environments and human health. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Abstract.
Depledge MH, Lovell R, Wheeler BW, Morrissey KM, White M, Fleming LE (2017). Future of the Sea: Health and Wellbeing of Coastal Communities. Governtment Office for Science, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/639432/Health_and_Wellbeing_Final.pdf. Abstract.
Lovell R (2016). Links between natural environments and obesity: evidence briefing (EIN021).
