Effects of Forest Therapy on Physical and Psychological Parameters in the General Population

Forest Therapy on Physical and Psychological Parameters in the General Population

In recent years, nature and forest therapy has increasingly become the focus of medical research. Recent scientific findings indicate overall positive effects of nature and forest therapy on physical and mental health. In Asia and Australia, it has already been implemented as a public health concept of prevention and health promotion. The aim of the project is to replicate the experience gained in Asia over the last three decades on the physical and psychological effects of nature/forest therapy in the context of the German forest and to investigate it further scientifically.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: General Population
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Two days forest therapy; Behavioral: Three days forest therapy

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 178
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Berlin, Germany, 14109
    • Charité University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 90 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion criteria:

• Women and men aged 18 to 90 years.
• Capacity to consent

Exclusion criteria:

• Serious acute or chronic medical conditions
• Immobility or limitation of mobility due to orthopedic, neurological or other medical causes
• Participation in another study
• Serious mental illness
• Pregnancy and lactation

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: SINGLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Two days forest therapy	Behavioral: Two days forest therapy; Participants attend two days (with a break day in between) of two-hour forest therapy at the Friedrichsruh, Barntrup or Wernigerode sites, led by an INFTA-certified forest therapy guide.
Experimental: Three days forest therapy	Behavioral: Three days forest therapy; Participants attend three days of two-hour forest therapy at the Friedrichsruh, Barntrup or Wernigerode sites, led by an INFTA-certified forest therapy guide.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Profile of Mood States (POMS)	Assessing full scale, range 1-7, lower score meaning a better outcome	Change from baseline POMS score at 3 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Perceived Benefits of Nature Questionnaire (PBNQ)	Assessing full scale, range 1-7, lower score meaning a better outcome	Change from baseline PBNQ score at 3 days
Subjective Vitality Scale state (SVS-G state)	Assessing full scale, range 1-80, higher score meaning a better outcome	Change from baseline SVS-G score at 3 days
Complaint List (B-LR)	Assessing full scale, range 1-50, lower score meaning a better outcome	Change from baseline B-LR score at 3 days
Perceive Stress Questionaire (PSQ)	Assessing full scale, range 1-40, lower score meaning a better outcome	Change from baseline PSQ score at 3 days
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)	Assessing state anxiety. The scale ranges from 1 to 8. Higher scores correspond to higher levels of anxiety (after recoding three inverted items).	Change from baseline STAI score at 3 days
PROMIS Scale v1.2 - Global Health	The scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 is the lowest level and 5 is the highest level. Higher scores reflect better functioning.	Change from baseline PROMIS score at 3 days
Allgemeine Selbstwirksamkeit Kurzskala (ASKU)	Assessing full scale, the scale ranges from 1 to 5. Higher scores correspond to better outcomes.	Change from baseline ASKU score at 3 days

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Charite University, Berlin, Germany

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 2, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 4, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): June 4, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 11, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 15, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): April 21, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 13, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 11, 2022
• Last Verified: October 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: KWT1

Drug and device information, study documents

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