Harvest for Health is a home-based vegetable gardening intervention that pairs cancer survivors with Master Gardeners from the Cooperative Extension System. Initially developed and tested in Alabama, ...the program was adapted for the different climate, growing conditions, and population in New Mexico. This paper chronicles the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of "Southwest Harvest for Health". During the nine-month single-arm trial, 30 cancer survivor-Master Gardener dyads worked together to establish and maintain three seasonal gardens. Primary outcomes were accrual, retention, and satisfaction. Secondary outcomes were vegetable and fruit (V and F) intake, physical activity, and quality of life. Recruitment was diverse and robust, with 30 survivors of various cancers, aged 50-83, roughly one-third minority, and two-thirds females enrolled in just 60 days. Despite challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, retention to the nine-month study was 100%, 93% reported "good-to-excellent" satisfaction, and 87% "would do it again." A median increase of 1.2 servings of V and F/day was documented. The adapted home-based vegetable gardening program was feasible, well-received, and resulted in increased V and F consumption among adult cancer survivors. Future studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this program and to inform strategies to increase the successful implementation and further dissemination of this intervention.
The effect of horticultural therapy (HT) on immune and endocrine biomarkers remains largely unknown. We designed a waitlist-control randomized controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of HT ...in improving mental well-being and modulating biomarker levels. A total of 59 older adults was recruited, with 29 randomly assigned to the HT intervention and 30 to the waitlist control group. The participants attended weekly intervention sessions for the first 3 months and monthly sessions for the subsequent 3 months. Biological and psychosocial data were collected. Biomarkers included IL-1β, IL-6, sgp-130, CXCL12/SDF-1α, CCL-5/RANTES, BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), hs-CRP, cortisol and DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone). Psychosocial measures examined cognitive functions, depression, anxiety, psychological well-being, social connectedness and satisfaction with life. A significant reduction in plasma IL-6 level (
= 0.02) was observed in the HT intervention group. For the waitlist control group, significant reductions in plasma CXCL12 (SDF-1α) (
= 0.003), CXCL5 (RANTES) (
= 0.05) and BDNF (
= 0.003) were observed. A significant improvement in social connectedness was also observed in the HT group (
= 0.01).
HT, in reducing plasma IL-6, may prevent inflammatory disorders and through maintaining plasma CXCL12 (SDF-1α), may maintain hematopoietic support to the brain. HT may be applied in communal gardening to enhance the well-being of older adults.
Horticultural therapy is defined as the process of utilising fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants facilitated by a trained therapist or healthcare provider, to achieve specific treatment goals or ...to simply improve a person's well-being. It can be used for therapy or rehabilitation programs for cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and recreational benefits, thus improving the person's body, mind and spirit. Between 5% to 15% of people with schizophrenia continue to experience symptoms in spite of medication, and may also develop undesirable adverse effects, horticultural therapy may be of value for these people.
To evaluate the effects of horticultural therapy for people with schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like illnesses compared with standard care or other additional psychosocial interventions.
We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group Trials Register (Janurary 2013) and supplemented this by contacting relevant study authors, and manually searching reference lists.
We included one randomised controlled trial (RCT) comparing horticultural therapy plus standard care with standard care alone for people with schizophrenia.
We reliably selected, quality assessed and extracted data. For continuous outcomes, we calculated a mean difference (MD) and for binary outcomes we calculated risk ratio (RR), both with 95% confidence intervals (CI). We assessed risk of bias and created a 'Summary of findings' table using the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach.
We included one single blind study (total n = 24). The overall risk of bias in the study was considered to be unclear although the randomisation was adequate. It compared a package of horticultural therapy which consisted of one hour per day of horticultural activity plus standard care with standard care alone over two weeks (10 consecutive days) with no long-term follow-up. Only two people were lost to follow-up in the study, both in the horticultural therapy group (1 RCT n = 24,RR 5.00 95% CI 0.27 to 94.34, very low quality evidence). There was no clear evidence of a difference in Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI-C) change scores between groups, however confidence intervals were wide (1 RCT n = 22, MD -0.90 95% CI -10.35 to 8.55, very low quality evidence). At the end of treatment, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS21) change scores in horticultural therapy group were greater than that in the control group (1 RCT n = 22, MD -23.70 CI -35.37 to - 12.03, very low quality evidence). The only included study did not report on adverse effects of interventions.
Based on the current very low quality data, there is insufficient evidence to draw any conclusions on benefits or harms of horticultural therapy for people with schizophrenia. This therapy remains unproven and more and larger randomised trials are needed to increase high quality evidence in this area.
Institutionalized older adults have limited ability to engage in horticultural activities that can improve their physical and mental health.
This study explored the effects of a combination of 3D ...virtual reality and horticultural therapy on institutionalized older adults' physical and mental health.
The study used a quasi-experimental design. A total of 106 older adults from 2 long-term care facilities were recruited and assigned to the experimental (n=59) or control (n=47) group. The experimental participants received a 9-week intervention. Both groups completed 3 assessments: at baseline, after the intervention, and 2 months later. The outcome variables included health status, meaning in life, perceived mattering, loneliness, and depression.
The experimental group demonstrated significantly improved health status (P<.001), meaning in life (P<.001), and perceived mattering (P<.001) as well as significantly reduced depression (P<.001) and loneliness (P<.001) compared to the control group immediately after the intervention; these effects persisted for up to 2 months.
This study verified the beneficial effects of a combination of 3D virtual reality and hands-on horticultural therapy on older adults' health. These results could support the future successful implementation of similar programs for institutionalized older adults on a larger scale.
Aim To present a narrative review of the empirical literature on the use of horticultural therapy in dementia care. Method A comprehensive literature search, conducted in December 2014, resulted in ...the selection of 15 primary research articles for review. Of these, three used qualitative methods, five used quantitative methods and seven used mixed methodology. The articles were critically appraised, and the narrative synthesis used a thematic approach whereby prominent themes from the articles were grouped to form representative themes. Findings Three main themes emerged from the narrative synthesis: the emotional health of people living with dementia, their perceived self-identity and their levels of engagement. Conclusion Horticultural therapy can be beneficial. At a macro-level, it is an inexpensive therapy that does not require specialist training to deliver. At a micro-level, it enhances the wellbeing of people living with dementia. Recommendations are made to promote access to appropriate horticultural therapy for people living with dementia, and for further research in this area.
Background and objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the current research trends in horticultural therapy for children by examining articles published in Korean journals over the past ...20 years.Methods: A total of 76 experimental articles from 22 journals were analyzed to determine the publication status, horticultural activity programs, and plant species used in the programs.Results: The results showed that the Journal of People, Plants, and Environment (57.9%) and horticulture majors (43.4%) showed the biggest number of publications of articles related to horticultural therapy for children. Most horticultural activity programs for children consisted of 11 to 15 sessions (36.4%), held once a week (61.0%), and lasted for ten weeks or less (33.8%), with each session lasting 31 to 60 minutes (53.2%). Most programs had groups of ten or fewer participants (40.3%) and were conducted indoors (75.3%). Although the activities varied among journals and authors’ majors, arts and crafts activities (41.5%) were the most common type of horticultural activity program for children. The analysis of plant species used in horticultural activities for children revealed that flowers were the most frequently used (49.5%), followed by vegetables (19.4%). Regarding the types of plant usage, cut flowers (33.5%) and seedlings (33.1%) were most frequently used, which is because cut flowers were mostly used in arts and crafts, and seedlings in cultivation activities. However, 53.8% of the plant materials were not clearly identified in the articles, indicating a lack of consideration for the plant materials used. According to the analysis of the sources of plants used in the horticultural activities, over 80% of flowers and 60% of vegetables were obtained through purchase for the program.Conclusion: In conclusion, it is necessary to increase the ratio of plant cultivation and observation activities to preserve the essence of horticultural therapy, as well as to select suitable plant species and develop effective programs for horticultural therapy to bring various beneficial effects to children.
Studies have established the benefits of horticultural therapy and activities for human health and well-being. Nonetheless, limited research has been conducted on the potential restorative advantages ...and distinctions between different types of horticultural activities in terms of stress reduction.
This study employed a quantitative research method to investigate the stress recovery benefits of five horticultural activities (flower arrangement, sowing and transplanting seeds,
crafting, pressed flower card making, and decorative bottle painting with dried flowers) and one reference activity (short composition writing) for children. The experiment was conducted in a children's activity center's multi-purpose classroom with 48 elementary students aged 9-12 years. The subjects first took a stress test to induce stress and then engaged in horticultural activities for 20 min. Physiological stress was assessed using electrocardiograms and electroencephalograms as feedback indicators. Psychological and emotional changes were determined using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children and Self-Assessment Manikin scales.
The results demonstrated that horticultural activities greatly reduced physiological fatigue, and their recovery benefits were significantly greater than those of the reference activity. The recovery effects from different horticultural activities were similar across physiological indicators, although flower arrangement and sowing and transplanting seeds exhibited relatively robust recovery benefits. The heart rate and α-EEG-based generalized estimating equation revealed that horticultural activities offered significantly better relative recovery at each time phase of operation than the reference activity, with girls showing a 3.68% higher relative recovery value than boys. Flower arrangement and
crafting offered better physiological recovery for students with prior horticultural experience, and these two activities received the highest scores in terms of positive effects and the "pleasure" dimension. Students believed that participating in horticultural activities resulted in a noteworthy increase in personal confidence and a greater sense of achievement.
The study suggests that horticultural activities that involve real and vibrant plants or natural materials and are more attractive have more stress-relieving benefits. We conclude that horticultural activities are beneficial leisure activities that aid in stress relief for children and that it is important to consider the attributes of activities when developing horticultural programs for elementary students.
•Physiological and psychological effects of viewing a green façade were investigated.•Viewing a green-façade has physiological relaxing effects such as higher alpha wave activity.•Viewing ...green-façade significantly increased parasympathetic nervous activity and decreased sympathetic nervous activity.•Visual contact with the green-façade positively leads to relaxation and positive mood.
Rapid urbanization and the lack of green infrastructure threaten the health of urban dwellers. Green façades have been proposed as a green infrastructure solution to compensate for the loss of green spaces in dense city areas; however, as far as we know, there is inadequate evidence for associations between views of green façades and relaxation. This study aims to clarify the physiological and psychological relaxation effects of viewing a green façade landscape. Twenty-five Chinese females (23 ± 1.5 years) viewed a green façade landscape or a building-wall for 5 min. Data were generated using electroencephalographic, heart rate variability, and skin conductance physiological measures and psychological measures using a semantic differential questionnaire and a Profile of Mood State. Findings suggest that, compared to the viewing of the building wall, the viewing of the green façade resulted in a significant increase in alpha relative waves in the frontal and occipital lobes, a significant increase in parasympathetic activity, and a significant decrease in the skin conductance as well as a substantial increase in comfortable, relaxed, and natural feelings, and a significant improvement in mood state. The green façade appears to enhance human physiological and psychological relaxation compared to the building-wall.
Growing health in UK prison settings Baybutt, Michelle; Dooris, Mark; Farrier, Alan
Health promotion international,
08/2019, Letnik:
34, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Abstract
Globally, prisoners tend to come from marginalized and socially disadvantaged sections of the society and exhibit a high incidence of ill health, linked to social exclusion and multiple ...complex needs. Prisons therefore offer an important opportunity to tackle inequality and injustice, through promoting health, reducing reoffending and facilitating community reintegration.This paper reports on and critically discusses findings from an evaluative research study, which aimed to identify and explore impacts of prisoners’ participation in an innovative social and therapeutic horticultural programme, ‘Greener on the Outside for Prisons’ (GOOP), delivered in prisons in North West England. Focus groups with 16 prisoners and semi-structured interviews with six prison staff were conducted at five sites. Presented under three overarching themes (health and well-being; skills development, employability, and work preparedness; and relationships), findings suggest that engagement with and participation in GOOP were important in improving positive mental well-being, increasing physical activity and knowledge about healthier eating; developing skills and work readiness; and building relationships and catalysing and strengthening prosocial behaviours, important for good citizenship and effective resettlement. The paper concludes that – in the context of the current UK prison reform agenda and concern about the high incidence of violence, substance misuse, self-harm and suicide – prison-based horticulture can offer multiple benefits and make a significant contribution to the creation of safe, secure, supportive and health-enhancing environments. Furthermore, it contends that by joining up health and justice agendas, programmes such as GOOP have the potential to serve as powerful catalysts for wider systemic change, thereby helping tackle inequalities and social exclusion within societies across the globe.
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