Abstract
Increasing visits to the outdoors for leisure and recreation has the potential to reduce societal inequalities and promote health and well-being. Government policy is one mechanism to support behaviour change at scale. Using Scotland as a case study, this paper examined how national strategies and plans incorporate behaviour change approaches to increase outdoor visits. It also assessed the utility of the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) framework for retrospectively analysing policy. The analysis found no single national strategy focused on promoting visits to the outdoors for leisure and recreation. While some policies include actions to encourage behaviour change, there is scope to expand these efforts and use a wider range of interventions. Doing so could improve access for groups who currently visit the outdoors less often and help prevent widening health disparities. The BCW proved to be an effective tool for retrospectively analysing behaviour change approaches in government policy.