Therapeutic Rainforest Study in Generating Positive Energy Among Undergraduate Students

Using Therapeutic Rainforest Mindful Walking in Generating Positive Mental Well-being Among Undergraduate Students

This study looked into how therapeutic forest walking will impact the well-being of undergraduate students at the National University of Singapore. A three-arm randomized control trial on 108 participants is being planned for this study. The primary aim of this study is to assess the feasibility and primary effect of the Therapeutic Rainforest Walking in generating positive energy among undergraduate students project in enhancing the quality of life, physical, mental, and psycho-social well-being among University students.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Stress; Anxiety
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Therapeutic rainforest mindful walking; Other: Therapeutic rainforest walk; Other: Campus Green walk

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 81
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Singapore
  • Singapore, Singapore
    • Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 30 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Current NUS undergraduate students
• No self-reported physical mobility issue
• No self-reported existing mental health conditions
• Enjoys nature

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Sequential Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Therapeutic rainforest & MIndful walking; The first arm uses mindful walking through a 2km forest trail in Singapore. All Interventional and Control arms will conduct their walk between 8 am to 11 am for five occasions weekly. At the T1, participants will attend a Zoom orientation session to familiarize themselves with the route. During this session, participants will need to answer the self-report questionnaire and provide the first saliva sample for the baseline measurement. In T2, a pre-intervention and post-intervention saliva sample will be taken before the walk. This will follow by T3 the following week. At T4, participants will attend a 60 mins reflection session and answer the self-report questionnaire. On T5 and T6, the participants will continue with the therapeutic rainforest mindfulness walk. On T7, a pre-intervention and post-intervention saliva sample will be taken. On T8, participants will attend a 60 mins reflection session and answer the self-report questionnaire.	Other: Therapeutic rainforest mindful walking; A two-kilometer trail curated by the National Parks Board, Singapore. The walk will be led by Mindfulness Practitioner who volunteered to be guides for this study.
Experimental: Therapeutic rainforest walk; The second arm of the intervention includes walking through a guided forest trail suggested by NParks Board. The collection of samples and answering of the self-report questionnaire will follow the same sequence as the 1st arm of the 3-arm RCT.	Other: Therapeutic rainforest walk; A two-kilometer trail curated by the National Parks Board, Singapore. The walk will be led by volunteer guides recruited by the research team.
Active Comparator: Campus green walk; The control for this study includes guided casual walking around the campus green trial conducted at the same intervals as per the interventions. The collection of samples and answering of the self-report questionnaire will also follow the same sequence as the 1 arm of the 3-arm RCT.	Other: Campus Green walk; A two-kilometer trail curated by the Office of Facility Management, NUS. The walk will be led by volunteer guides recruited by the research team.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Perceived Stress Scale 4 (PSS-4)	4 items, Likert scale (0-lowest, 4-highest) Scoring higher in the scale would translate to higher perceived stress.	8 weeks
Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7)	7 items, Likert scale (0-lowest, 3-highest) Scoring higher in the scale would translate to higher anxiety level.	8 weeks
English Brief Resilience Scale (BRS)	6 items, Likert scale (1-lowest, 5-highest) Scoring higher in the scale would translate to higher resilience.	8 weeks
Saliva Cortisol	Measured using Passive drool method	8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National University of Singapore
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Yong Shian Goh, PhD, National University of Singapore

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 31, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 31, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): March 31, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 1, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 1, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): June 4, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 1, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 28, 2023
• Last Verified: July 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Mental health; well-being; stress
• Other Study ID Numbers: MindtheGap200

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No