The Human–Nature Relationship and Its Impact on Health: A Critical Review

Within the past four decades, research has been increasingly drawn toward understanding whether there is a link between the changing human–nature relationship and its impact on people’s health. However, to examine whether there is a link requires research of its breadth and underlying mechanisms from an interdisciplinary approach. This article begins by reviewing the debates concerning the human–nature relationship, which are then critiqued and redefined from an interdisciplinary perspective. The concept and chronological history of “health” is then explored, based on the World Health Organization’s definition. Combining these concepts, the human–nature relationship and its impact on human’s health are then explored through a developing conceptual model. It is argued that using an interdisciplinary perspective can facilitate a deeper understanding of the complexities involved for attaining optimal health at the human–environmental interface. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________近四十年来，学界愈发关注探索不断演变的人与自然关系，及其对人类健康的影响之间是否存在关联。然而，要验证此类关联是否存在，需采用跨学科研究方法，从研究广度与内在机制层面展开探究。本文首先梳理有关人与自然关系的学术争论，随后从跨学科视角对其进行批判性审视与重新界定。随后基于世界卫生组织（World Health Organization）的定义，探讨“健康”的概念及其历时沿革。结合上述概念，本文通过逐步完善的概念模型，进一步探究人与自然关系及其对人类健康的影响。本文主张，采用跨学科视角，有助于更深入理解在人-环境界面实现最优健康所涉及的复杂问题。