The effects of urban forests on the medical care use for respiratory disease in Korea: a structural equation model approach

This study examined the relationship between urban forests and medical care use. A structural equation model was used to test the hypothesis that the extent of urban forest is negatively related to medical care use for respiratory disease, controlling for the effects of degree of air pollution, population, and availability of healthcare providers. AMOS v18 was used for the analysis. Significant negative association (estimates = −0.05, p-value < 0.00) was found between forest extent and medical care use. The results showed that urban areas with larger forests had direct significant effects on medical care use after controlling for factors such as population, providers, and air pollution. Such confirmation of the study hypothesis provided the health policy makers that urban city forests can mediate harmful effects of the external environment and improve health status of residents.