Yeon, P.-S.; Kang, S.-N.; Lee, N.-E.; Kim, I.-O.; Min, G.-M.; Kim, G.-Y.; Kim, J.-G.; Shin, W.-S. Benefits of Urban Forest Healing Program on Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Depressive Patients. Healthcare2023, 11, 2766.
Yeon, P.-S.; Kang, S.-N.; Lee, N.-E.; Kim, I.-O.; Min, G.-M.; Kim, G.-Y.; Kim, J.-G.; Shin, W.-S. Benefits of Urban Forest Healing Program on Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Depressive Patients. Healthcare 2023, 11, 2766.
Yeon, P.-S.; Kang, S.-N.; Lee, N.-E.; Kim, I.-O.; Min, G.-M.; Kim, G.-Y.; Kim, J.-G.; Shin, W.-S. Benefits of Urban Forest Healing Program on Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Depressive Patients. Healthcare2023, 11, 2766.
Yeon, P.-S.; Kang, S.-N.; Lee, N.-E.; Kim, I.-O.; Min, G.-M.; Kim, G.-Y.; Kim, J.-G.; Shin, W.-S. Benefits of Urban Forest Healing Program on Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Depressive Patients. Healthcare 2023, 11, 2766.
Abstract
Depression is considered a widespread mental health problem worldwide. Moreover, anxiety symptoms are very closely related to depression patients, and it is known that the coexistence rate of depression and anxiety diagnosed simultaneously is high. Treatment and preventive management of depression and anxiety are essential for public health. Forest healing is attracting attention as a form of low-cost preventive medicine that is safe and has no side effects.However, although the physiological and psychological effects have been scientifically proven, it is insufficient to reveal a direct relationship between forest healing and depression.This study investigated the benefits of an urban forest healing program on depression and anxiety symptoms of depressive disorders. We employed a randomized controlled trial design. Forty-seven depression patients were randomly divided into an urban forest healing program group and a control group. Measures included the Montgomery-Asberg depression rating scale (MADRS), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaires. Our results revealed that the combination of general treatment and forest healing programs for patients with depression is more effective in improving depression and anxiety than routine treatment alone. We expect our work to serve as a starting point for more sophisticated research in discussing the availability of non-pharmacological treatments in forest healing.
Keywords
urban forest healing program; depression; anxiety
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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