Effects of horticultural therapy on elderly’ health: protocol of a randomized controlled trial

BMC Geriatrics

Study Protocol

Wilson Wai-San Tam¹  Angelia Sia²  Chay Hoon Tan³  Lei Feng⁴  Kheng Siang Ng⁴  Hui Yu Chan⁴  Roger Chun-Man Ho⁵  Ee Heok Kua⁵  Rathi Mahendran⁵  Iris Rawtaer⁵  Goh Lee Gan⁶  Maxel Kian-Wee Ng⁷  Anis Larbi⁸ 

[1]Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of. Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

[2]Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology Research, National Parks Board, Singapore, Singapore

[3]Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

[4]Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

[5]Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

[6]Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

[7]Division of Family Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore

[8]Horticulture & Community Gardening Division, National Parks Board, Singapore, Singapore

[9]Singapore Immunology Network, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, Singapore

关键词: Horticultural therapy;    Gardening;    Elderly;    Mental health;    Cognitive functioning;    Physical health;    Randomized controlled trial;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12877-017-0588-z

 received in 2016-03-02, accepted in 2017-08-17,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundDue to a rapidly ageing population in the world, it is increasingly pertinent to promote successful ageing strategies which are cost-effective, easily accessible, and more likely to be acceptable to the elderly. Past research associates exposure to natural environments and horticultural therapy (HT) with positive psychological, social and physical health benefits. This Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) is designed to evaluate the efficacy of HT in promoting Asian elderly’ mental health, cognitive functioning and physical health.Methods/design70 elderly participants aged 60 to 85 years old will be randomized to participate in either the active horticultural therapy group or be in the waitlist control. Sessions will be weekly for 12 weeks, and monthly for 3 months. Mental health will be assessed through self-reports of depressive and anxiety symptomatology, life satisfaction, social connectedness and psychological well-being, collaborated with immunological markers. Outcome measures of cognitive functioning and physical health include neuropsychological tests of cognitive function and basic health screening. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 3 months and 6 months post-intervention.DiscussionThis RCT comprehensively investigates the efficacy of a non-invasive intervention, HT, in enhancing mental health, cognitive functioning and physical health. The results have tremendous potential for supporting future successful ageing programs and applicability to larger populations.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02495194. Trial registration date: July 13, 2015. Retrospectively registered.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017