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Wetlands for Wellbeing: Piloting a Nature-Based Health Intervention for the Management of Anxiety and Depression
Nature-based health interventions (NBIs) for the treatment of poor mental health are becoming increasingly common, yet evidence to support their effectiveness is lacking. We conduct a pilot study of a six-week intervention, aiming to engage individuals with wetland nature for the treatment of anxiet...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2019
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6887757/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31718035 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16224413 |
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author | Maund, Phoebe R. Irvine, Katherine N. Reeves, Jonathan Strong, Emily Cromie, Ruth Dallimer, Martin Davies, Zoe G. |
author_facet | Maund, Phoebe R. Irvine, Katherine N. Reeves, Jonathan Strong, Emily Cromie, Ruth Dallimer, Martin Davies, Zoe G. |
author_sort | Maund, Phoebe R. |
collection | PubMed |
description | Nature-based health interventions (NBIs) for the treatment of poor mental health are becoming increasingly common, yet evidence to support their effectiveness is lacking. We conduct a pilot study of a six-week intervention, aiming to engage individuals with wetland nature for the treatment of anxiety and/or depression. We employed a mixed methods design, using questionnaires, focus groups and semi-structured interviews to evaluate the intervention from the perspective of participants (n = 16) and healthcare professionals (n = 2). Results demonstrate significant improvements in mental health across a range of indicators, including mental wellbeing (Warwick and Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale), anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7), stress (Perceived Stress Scale) and emotional wellbeing (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule). Participants and healthcare professionals cited additional outcomes including improved physical health and reduced social isolation. The wetland site provided a sense of escape from participants’ everyday environments, facilitating relaxation and reductions in stress. Wetland staff knowledge of the natural world, transportation and group organisation also played a considerable role in the intervention’s success. These aspects should be considered in future and existing NBIs to maximise benefits to participants. We propose NBIs based in wetlands are an effective therapy option for individuals diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-6887757 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2019 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-68877572019-12-09 Wetlands for Wellbeing: Piloting a Nature-Based Health Intervention for the Management of Anxiety and Depression Maund, Phoebe R. Irvine, Katherine N. Reeves, Jonathan Strong, Emily Cromie, Ruth Dallimer, Martin Davies, Zoe G. Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Nature-based health interventions (NBIs) for the treatment of poor mental health are becoming increasingly common, yet evidence to support their effectiveness is lacking. We conduct a pilot study of a six-week intervention, aiming to engage individuals with wetland nature for the treatment of anxiety and/or depression. We employed a mixed methods design, using questionnaires, focus groups and semi-structured interviews to evaluate the intervention from the perspective of participants (n = 16) and healthcare professionals (n = 2). Results demonstrate significant improvements in mental health across a range of indicators, including mental wellbeing (Warwick and Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale), anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7), stress (Perceived Stress Scale) and emotional wellbeing (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule). Participants and healthcare professionals cited additional outcomes including improved physical health and reduced social isolation. The wetland site provided a sense of escape from participants’ everyday environments, facilitating relaxation and reductions in stress. Wetland staff knowledge of the natural world, transportation and group organisation also played a considerable role in the intervention’s success. These aspects should be considered in future and existing NBIs to maximise benefits to participants. We propose NBIs based in wetlands are an effective therapy option for individuals diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression. MDPI 2019-11-11 2019-11 /pmc/articles/PMC6887757/ /pubmed/31718035 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16224413 Text en © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Maund, Phoebe R. Irvine, Katherine N. Reeves, Jonathan Strong, Emily Cromie, Ruth Dallimer, Martin Davies, Zoe G. Wetlands for Wellbeing: Piloting a Nature-Based Health Intervention for the Management of Anxiety and Depression |
title | Wetlands for Wellbeing: Piloting a Nature-Based Health Intervention for the Management of Anxiety and Depression |
title_full | Wetlands for Wellbeing: Piloting a Nature-Based Health Intervention for the Management of Anxiety and Depression |
title_fullStr | Wetlands for Wellbeing: Piloting a Nature-Based Health Intervention for the Management of Anxiety and Depression |
title_full_unstemmed | Wetlands for Wellbeing: Piloting a Nature-Based Health Intervention for the Management of Anxiety and Depression |
title_short | Wetlands for Wellbeing: Piloting a Nature-Based Health Intervention for the Management of Anxiety and Depression |
title_sort | wetlands for wellbeing: piloting a nature-based health intervention for the management of anxiety and depression |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6887757/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31718035 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16224413 |
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