Health Research Journal, Volume 3, Issue 2, Winter 2017 Original Article
Health Research Journal; Volume 3, Issue 2, pages 89-94
Investigation of the Relationship between Urban Furniture
and Utilization of Urban Spaces and Mental Health
Rostam Saberifar
1,*
1
Department of Urban Planning, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran
* Corresponding Author: Rostam Saberifar, Associate Professor, Department of
Urban Planning, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran. Tel: 051-38813724, E-mail:
Saberifar@yahoo.com
Received: 2016/06/2 Accepted: 2017/03/6 Online published: 2018/07/1
©2017 Deputy of Research and Technology of Baqiyatallah Hospital
Abstract
Introduction: The impact of environmental conditions on public and mental health,
has been proven by several studies. Meanwhile, the role of furniture and the enjoyment
of urban spaces has been particularly noted by urban planners and health policymakers.
Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the relationship between statuses of urban
furniture and the amount of urban space, and examined mental health in the city.
Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was carried out in the summer of
2015 among the population aged 15 and older in Sabzevar city. For this purpose and
according to the population of the city, 372 individuals were selected by randomized
sampling. The required data were collected using SLC-90 and a self-made questionnaire
(for mental health and condition of the furniture and spaces, respectively) and the
validity and reliability was confirmed. The collected data were analyzed by correlation
and multivariate regression analysis using the SPSS software.
Results: The results of this study showed that there was a significant relationship
between urban furniture status and utilization of urban spaces with mental health at P
value of < 0.05.
Conclusions: Urban furniture plays an important role in explaining and predicting the
mental health of citizens. Based on the findings of this study, it can be said that more
citizens use urban spaces and the furniture in these spaces, thus improvements in this
regard could lead to better mental health.
Keywords: Urban Furniture, Mental Health, Urban Spaces.