Process and Outcomes of Horticultural Therapy for People With Disabilities

June 1, 2021 updated by: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Examining the Process and Outcomes of Horticultural Therapy for People With Severe Mental Illness, Intellectual, and Multiple Disabilities

Horticultural therapy (HT) "is the engagement of a client in horticulture activities facilitated by a trained therapist to achieve specific and documented treatment goals" (American Horticultural Therapy Association, 2012). People's interactions with plants, through goal-orientated horticultural activities in the form of active gardening, as well as the passive appreciation of nature, could be therapeutic to people with mental or intellectual disabilities in many ways (Eling, 2006; Parkinson, Lowe, & Vecsey, 2011). This study aims to conduct evaluation studies of HT group programmes for care home residents with severe mental illness.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This is a randomized, single-blind, controlled study in which the outcomes of the horticultural therapy program is compared with a comparison group. Outcome measures were compared at Pre-intervention and post-intervention.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
50

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Hong Kong
      • Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong
        • Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Wong Chuk Hang Complex

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • diagnosis of severe mental disorder, e.g. schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder.
  • age 18 - 65.
  • care home resident

Exclusion Criteria:

  • organic brain disorder
  • difficulties in communication for joining horticultural activity.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Treatment
Participants joined a 8-session horticultural therapy group program (60 minutes per session) over 8 weeks.
Behavioral: Horticultural therapy
A structured 8-session group therapy program, in which participants learn about plants, green spaces, plant-human interactions. During the program, the participants are guided by therapist to grow or take care of both indoor and outdoor plants, do small horticulture projects (like cooking, making drinks, herb projects).
Other: Comparison
Participants joined 4 sessions of individual, parallel, and table-top activities of their own interest, e.g. reading, drawing, coloring.
Other: Comparison
4 session of semi-structured and free engagement in activities of their choice. The activities that they could choose are mostly table-top activities which are solitary in nature, and does not require social interaction.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Mental Well-being
Time Frame: Pre-test, Postest (8 weeks from pre-test), Change from Pretest to Posttest is assessed
Chinese Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (C-SWEMWBS). The C-SWEMWBS uses a five-point Likert scale. The average scores for the scale ranges between 1 and 5, and a higher score indicates better mental well-being.
Pre-test, Postest (8 weeks from pre-test), Change from Pretest to Posttest is assessed
Change in Engagement in Meaningful Activity Scale (EMAS)
Time Frame: Pre-test, Postest (8 weeks from pre-test), Change from Pretest to Posttest is assessed
Engagement in Meaningful Activity Scale (EMAS). The EMAS has 12 items measured on a four-point Likert scale. The average score for the scale is 1- 4 and a higher score indicates higher engagement.
Pre-test, Postest (8 weeks from pre-test), Change from Pretest to Posttest is assessed
Change in Perceived Benefits of Horticultural Therapy
Time Frame: Pre-test, Postest (8 weeks from pre-test), Change from Pretest to Posttest is assessed
This is a opinion survey developed by the clinical setting to collect participants' attitude toward horticultural therapy. It has 7 items and participants are asked to respond using a five-point scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree". The average score ranges from 1 to 5, and a higher score indicates that the participant perceived the benefits of horticulture therapy as higher.
Pre-test, Postest (8 weeks from pre-test), Change from Pretest to Posttest is assessed

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Andrew MH Siu, PhD, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 30, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
January 29, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 1, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 1, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 8, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 8, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 1, 2021

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • HSEARS20191030004

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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