A pilot randomized controlled trial of group-based indoor gardening and art activities demonstrates therapeutic benefits to healthy women

Raymond Odeh, Elizabeth R M Diehl, Sara Jo Nixon, C Craig Tisher, Dylan Klempner, Jill K Sonke, Thomas A Colquhoun, Qian Li, Maria Espinosa, Dianela Perdomo, Kaylee Rosario, Hannah Terzi, Charles L Guy, Raymond Odeh, Elizabeth R M Diehl, Sara Jo Nixon, C Craig Tisher, Dylan Klempner, Jill K Sonke, Thomas A Colquhoun, Qian Li, Maria Espinosa, Dianela Perdomo, Kaylee Rosario, Hannah Terzi, Charles L Guy

Abstract

Background: There is mounting anecdotal and empirical evidence that gardening and art-making afford therapeutic benefits.

Objectives: This randomly controlled pilot study tested the hypothesis that participation in group-based indoor gardening or art-making activities for one hour twice a week for four weeks would provide quantifiably different therapeutic benefits to a population of healthy women ages 26-49.

Methods: A population of 42 volunteers was randomly assigned to parallel gardening or art-making treatment groups. A total of 36 participants initiated the treatment protocol and 32 (Gardening n = 15 and Art n = 17) received the interventions and completed all assessments. Treatments included eight one-hour group-based gardening or art intervention sessions. Self-report psychometric assessments were conducted for anxiety, depression symptomatology, mood disturbance, stress, satisfaction with discretionary social activities, and quality of life measures. Cardiac physiological data were also collected. Outcomes were measured at baseline, during, and post-intervention.

Results: Engaging in both gardening and art-making activities resulted in apparent therapeutic improvements for self-reported total mood disturbance, depression symptomatology, and perceived stress with different effect sizes following eight one-hour treatment sessions. Gardening also resulted in improvements for indications of trait anxiety. Based on time-course evidence, dosage responses were observed for total mood disturbance, perceived stress, and depression symptomatology for both gardening and art-making. However, gardening or art-making did not have an apparent influence on heart rate or blood pressure or result in marked improvement for satisfaction with discretionary leisure activities.

Conclusion: The data did not support the hypothesis of differential therapeutic benefits of gardening and art-making for healthy women. When taken together, group-based gardening or art-making can provide quantitatively measurable improvements in healthy women's psychosocial health status that imply potentially important public health benefits.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03266120.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1. CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting…
Fig 1. CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) recruitment, consenting, enrollment, screening and intervention completion diagram for the gardening and art randomized controlled trial.
Fig 2. Study experimental design.
Fig 2. Study experimental design.
Self-report psychometric assessments* included the Profile of Mood States 2nd Ed. Adult Form (POMS); Perceived Stress Scale (PSS); Beck Depression Inventory 2nd Ed. (BDI-II); State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Adult Form (STAI); Satisfaction with Participation in Discretionary Social Activities (SPDSA) PROMIS Short Form v1.0; and SF-36v2 (SF-36) Health Survey 3rd Ed. Blood Pressure** (BP) and Heart Rate** (HR) were collected using Omron 7 Series Wrist Blood Pressure Monitors (BP652N).
Fig 3. Time course dosage responses.
Fig 3. Time course dosage responses.
(A) POMS Total Mood Disturbance. (B) PSS. (C) BDI-II. Logarithmic regression trends with respect to art or gardening interventions. Sample size varies between sessions and between groups due to missing data. Error bars represent standard error. Best-fit trend lines and equations were determined using Excel.

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