Horticultural Activities Research Articles

Effects of a Combination of Three-Dimensional Virtual Reality and Hands-on Horticultural Therapy on Institutionalized Older Adults' Physical and Mental Health: Quasi-Experimental Design.

BackgroundInstitutionalized older adults have limited ability to engage in horticultural activities that can improve their physical and mental health.ObjectiveThis study explored the effects of a combination of 3D virtual reality and horticultural therapy on institutionalized older adults’ physical and mental health.MethodsThe study used a quasi-experimental design. A total of 106 older adults from 2 long-term care facilities were recruited and assigned to the experimental (n=59) or control (n=47) group. The experimental participants received a 9-week intervention. Both groups completed 3 assessments: at baseline, after the intervention, and 2 months later. The outcome variables included health status, meaning in life, perceived mattering, loneliness, and depression.ResultsThe experimental group demonstrated significantly improved health status (P<.001), meaning in life (P<.001), and perceived mattering (P<.001) as well as significantly reduced depression (P<.001) and loneliness (P<.001) compared to the control group immediately after the intervention; these effects persisted for up to 2 months.ConclusionsThis study verified the beneficial effects of a combination of 3D virtual reality and hands-on horticultural therapy on older adults’ health. These results could support the future successful implementation of similar programs for institutionalized older adults on a larger scale.

An Analysis on the Preference of Early Childhood Teachers in Horticultural Activities Based on Conjoint Analysis

An Analysis on the Preference of Early Childhood Teachers in Horticultural Activities Based on Conjoint Analysis

Horticultural Activity Type, Psychological Well-Being, and Fruit and Vegetable Intake.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of the frequency of participation in horticultural activity types on psychological well-being and fruit and vegetable intake. The study sought to understand the mediating effect of psychological well-being between the frequency of types of horticultural activities and the frequency of fruit and vegetable intake. Convenience sampling was used to collect 400 valid data through a self-administered questionnaire that inquired about the frequency of four horticultural activity types (indoor plant activities, outdoor plant activities, arts/crafts activities, and excursions), the measure of psychological well-being, and the frequency of fruit and vegetable intake. The results showed that a higher frequency of indoor and outdoor plant activity positively affected psychological well-being. Psychological well-being played a partial mediation role between indoor plant activity and vegetable and fruit intake and a full mediation role between outdoor plant activity and vegetable and fruit intake. The plant-related arts/crafts activities and excursions were not associated with psychological well-being or vegetable and fruit intake.

When Confucius meets Erikson: An innovative life review program on Chinese seniors with probable dementia.

Before Erikson proposed the life stages, Confucius concluded an autobiographic review of his entire life in about 500 BC. Confucius' life stages may be closer to the life experiences of Chinese older adults. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the life review program on cognitive ability, life satisfaction, meaning of life, and ego integrity. The experiment was based on a single-group time-series design with a four-time test across 21weeks. The evoking materials were horticultural activities held in seven weekly sessions. The innovative life review program was in accordance with a combination of Confucius' and Erikson's life stages. Nine participants completed all sessions. There was a significant positive effect of time on participants' cognitive ability and meaning of life after the program. A combination of Confucius' and Erikson's life stages can be more advantageous for Chinese older adults than only Erikson's life stage.

Therapeutic Nature Activities: A Step Toward the Labor Market for Traumatized Refugees.

Background: Globally, the number of refugees is growing. For many refugees, entering the labor market in their new country of residence is challenging. Some remain forever dependent on welfare services, and this not only weakens their chances of integration, but also harms their health and well-being. Methods: This qualitative single case study focused on a group of war-stricken refugees in Denmark. The study investigated the impact of an eight-month horticultural vocational program aimed at improving their ability to complete an education program or to work. A total of 29 interviews were conducted and analyzed using the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) method. Results: The natural environment in the eco-village evoked a feeling of safety as well as positive memories in the participants, in contrast to the traumatic memories they had of their flight. Horticultural activities and the positive and respectful attitude from staff initiated a recovery process. New skills were achieved at an individual pace, and feelings of isolation decreased. These findings can be implicated in future interventions.

Meta-analysis of controlled trials testing horticultural therapy for the improvement of cognitive function

Improving cognitive function is one of the most challenging global issues in cognitive impairment population. Horticultural therapy involves the expertise of a horticultural therapist who establishes a treatment plan for horticultural activities that aim to achieve cognitive changes, and thereby improve health-related quality of life. However, more convincing evidence demonstrating the effect of horticultural therapy on cognitive function is essential. The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of controlled trials testing the effect of horticultural therapy on cognitive function and the findings indicate that horticultural therapy programs significantly improved cognitive function. The effect size of the horticultural therapy program was large. Findings of this meta-analysis have important implications for practice and policies. Contemporary healthcare systems should consider horticultural therapy as an important intervention for improving patients’ cognitive function. Governments and policy-makers should consider horticultural therapy as an important tool to prevent the decline of cognitive function in cognitive impairment population.

Horticultural Therapy: Inadequately Resourced Despite Efficacious Rehabilitative Outcomes

Horticultural therapy as defined by the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) states: horticultural therapy as a process of utilizing plants and horticultural activities to improve soci...

Effects of Types of Horticultural Activity on the Physical and Mental State of Elderly Individuals.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of types of horticultural activities among elderly individuals in a senior citizen learning camp. We arranged four horticultural activities: Grass Doll, Kokedama, Rocky Leaf Prints, and Herb Tasting and Smelling. Twenty-seven senior citizens (60 to 76 years) were recruited to participate. We assessed their physiological and mental state before and after the activities by measuring heart rate variability (HRV), pulse rate, blood pressure, salivary amylase activity (SAA), and Profile of Mood States (POMS). Results showed that SAA was significantly lower after the Rocky Leaf Prints, Herb Tasting and Smelling, and Kokedama. Pulse rate had a downward trend after the four horticultural activities. The ratio of low frequency (LF) over high frequency (HF) results showed that the Rocky Leaf Prints had a larger downward trend, followed by Herb Tasting and Smelling. POMS scores indicated significant improvement for Rocky Leaf Prints and Herb Tasting and Smelling. The types including artistic creation and food tasting were promising methods for psychological relaxation, stress reduction, and vigor enhancement for elderly persons. Findings showed that the impact of activities involving contact with plants was more significant in short-term activities. We hope this study can help plan the horticultural activities of the elderly in the future.

Integrated Hydrogeological and Hydrochemical Studies in an Agri-horticulture Intensive Watershed at Narkhed, Nagpur, Maharashtra and Pandhurna, Chindwara, Madhya Pradesh - A Case Study from Central India

Abstract The present study is an attempt to investigate the impact of intensive agriculture and horticulture activities on the hydrogeological and hydrochemical regime in a watershed in Central India. The study area covers 137 km2 and the land use land cover (LULC) study shows that 39.72% area is agri-horticulture land, and 29.78% of the land is covered with other vegetation. Groundwater budgeting is aimed to estimate stage of groundwater development and to examine the contribution of different competing users (domestic, agriculture and industries) on groundwater usage. The groundwater budgeting results show that the stage of groundwater development is 100.26%, thus the study area falls under the over-exploited category as per GEC 2015 norms. The groundwater quality indicates the elevated concentration of nitrate (&amp;gt;45 mg/L) in 41% samples of pre-monsoon season and 80% samples in the post-monsoon season. The elevated concentration of nitrate in groundwater samples of the post-monsoon season indicates the contamination due to the non-point sources like excessive use of fertilizers in horti-agriculture. The sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) values indicate that groundwater is suitable for irrigation. However, physico-chemical water quality results show that 74% samples of pre-monsoon and 85% samples of the post-monsoon season are found unsuitable for drinking as compared to acceptable limits of drinking water specification BIS 10500:2012. The study area needs intervention measures both on the supply side and demand side to bring the development stage and water quality to safer limits. Long term mitigation strategies for the revival of the natural streams should also be adopted to increase water availability in the study area. Precision agriculture, promotion of organic farming, minimization of water use, soil amendments for soil moisture retention and prevention of the runoff must be included in the management practices to improve the health of the watershed and for the long term sustainability.

A study on the relationship between horticultural activity program and young children’s emotional regulation competence and happiness

A study on the relationship between horticultural activity program and young children’s emotional regulation competence and happiness

Analysis of the Determinants of the Technical Efficiency of Horticultural Production in the Face of the Degradation of Water Reservoirs in Urban Centers in Burkina Faso

Horticulture activity represents one of the most important sources of income for the populations living near the water reservoirs in the city of Ouagadougou. However, its production is threatened by the increasingly and pronounced deterioration of reservoirs. In this article, we aim to measure the technical efficiency of horticulturalists in such a context. To achieve this goal, the stochastic production frontier method was carried out on a representative sample of 128 horticultural operators. The outcomes of the research reveal that overall horticulturalists are not technically efficient. In fact, the average level of technical efficiency is 0.68. The technical inefficiency evaluated to 0.32 is mainly due to the social status of the operator, the location of the plot with respect to the flow of water, and the poor state of water and soil. Keywords : Horticulture, Coelli and Battesse model, Technical efficiency, Water reservoirs DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-12-13 Publication date: June 30th 2020

Food Security Status among Rural Households in Sarpolzahab and its Association with Socio-Economic and Agricultural Factors

Purpose- Food security (FS) is defined as sustainable access to safe and nutritious food for a healthy and active life. The present study was designed to investigate and determine FS status of rural households and the relevant influential factors. It was conducted on 432 rural households in six subdistricts of two districts of Sarpolzahab, West of Iran, in 2016. Design/methodology/approach- The samples were selected using random cluster sampling, and FS status was assessed using United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) household FS questionnaire. Therefore, both socio-economic questionnaire and the household FS questionnaire were completed during a face to face interview. Data were analyzed using the statistical software package SPSS-22. Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and forward multiple logistic regression were used for data analysis. Findings- Prevalence of food insecurity (FI) in all of the surveyed households was 65.3%, and household FS status between the subdistricts had a significant difference (P< 0.01). The results of the study showed that the prevalence of FI in the subdistricts of Posht-Tang and Sarab (83.3% and 76.4%, respectively) was higher than other subdistricts. Number of household’s members, land ownership, education of household’s head, activity status, and household’s income had significantly relationship with household FI (P< 0.01). Practical implications- The high prevalence of FI is a major threat to the abnormal utilization of environmental resources in this realm. Therefore, given the impact of horticultural activities and diverse cultivation on household FS, macro and regional policies should be provided to increase the diversity of products through agroforestry and intercropping. Original/value- This research presents the basic information on the FS status of rural households in Sarpolzahab and some related socio-economic factors the results of which can help planners and managers to implement interventions to improve the FS and welfare of rural households.

Analysis of Horticultural Activities in the Teacher’s Guidebooks of Nuri Curriculum for 5-Year-Olds

Analysis of Horticultural Activities in the Teacher’s Guidebooks of Nuri Curriculum for 5-Year-Olds

Psychological and Physiological Relaxation Induced by Nature-Working with Ornamental Plants

Objective. Nature has a significant impact on general well-being. However, till date, little psychophysiological evidence is available on the benefits of nature-based activities in adults. The primary goal of this study was to determine the physiological and psychological benefits of horticultural activity in adults. The participants were instructed to perform the making of a flower basket (horticultural activity) and a computer task (i.e., control activity) was compared.Methods. A total of 40 Chinese females (mean age 22.2 ± 0.9 years) participated in this experiment. The Blood pressure, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the electroencephalograms (EEGs) were used to measure the participants’ psychophysiological responses.Results. Analysis of the STAI data showed a lower anxiety score after performing the horticultural activity than after performing the control activity. Furthermore, in the EEG evaluation, variations in the brainwaves were observed after both activities.Conclusions. The study results suggest that horticultural activity induced physiological and psychological relaxation in adults.

Vocational Rehabilitation of People with Mental Disabilities by Repeated Training of Horticultural Activities

The purpose of this study was to develop an effective horticultural activity program for the vocational rehabilitation of people with mental...

Current Status and Parents’ Perception on Horticultural Activity Programs for Preschoolers in Korea

This study conducted a survey on 163 parents in Korea to investigate their interest in plants, experience in growing plants, and perception on horticultural activity programs (HAP) for their children. Most children (80.4%) of the respondents had experience participating in HAPs, and most of their experience occurred during school hours in preschool educational institutions more than once a month (60.3%). The more interest in plants and experience in growing plants the parents had, the more experience the preschoolers had in participating in HAPs, which implies that the experience of the parents with plants affected their children’s participation in HAPs. Parents’ most preferred location of HAPs was preschool educational institutions, and most preferred time was school hours with a frequency of more than once a week (57.1%), which is more frequent than the current status of HAPs in preschool educational institutions. Parents also responded that the most preferred instructors of HAP has are those with a professional background in horticulture. Among the activities in HAP for preschoolers, parents most preferred cooking (M = 4.05) activity, and they did not dislike any of the activities. They responded that the facilities for HAP needed to be improved to make HAP more active in preschool educational institutions. Overall, based on the current results, developing suitable HAPs and facilities for preschoolers, fostering professional HAP instructors, and educating parents about horticulture would enhance HAPs in preschool educational institutions, thus providing preschoolers with many benefits of HAPs. Key words: early childhood education, gardening, horticultural education, kindergarten, special activities

An Indoor Gardening Planting Table Game Design to Improve the Cognitive Performance of the Elderly with Mild and Moderate Dementia.

The purpose of this study is to improve the overall cognitive function of patients with dementia in Yunlin County, Taiwan, by designing an indoor gardening flower combination game suitable for home and maintenance institutions. This paper uses qualitative research (participatory interviews, case studies, and contextual observation methods in the demand exploration phase) and quantitative research (experimental methods and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Barthel Index questionnaires in the product verification phase). This study adopted a four-stage service design: demand exploration, demand definition, design implementation, and product verification. In the stage of demand exploration, 14 elderly people with mild or moderate dementia were interviewed, and two cases were selected for two in-depth observations of horticultural treatment activities. Common obstacles and potential demand points were listed after integration: (1) The safety of elderly patients with dementia can be improved by employing horticultural treatment activities transferred from outdoors to indoors; (2) the objects and facilities used in horticultural activities should be improved to reduce the attention burden of elderly patients with dementia; (3) the elements of reminiscence or familiarity of the mentally handicapped elderly should be increased; (4) the process of gardening and planting can be used by two or four people to improve social and language skills. According to this study, an indoor gardening planting table game was developed. This game includes a group of flower combination prompt cards (including five flower groups: camellia, cherry blossom, chrysanthemum, kapok, and lotus), a group of color and number prompt rings, and a flower base, which provides planting of up to 25 flowers and is matched with the number prompt color rings; then, the combined flowers are planted into the base. In the final experience experiment, 7 participants with free movement of the upper limbs and mild or moderate dementia were selected by the MMSE and Barthel Index to participate in a 5-week experiment. After using a combination of progressive low-level, medium-level, and high-level flower combination tasks, the results showed that the overall performance of the elderly patients with mild or moderate dementia in the MMSE test was improved by the indoor gardening planting table game. However, the treatment effect-size presented a low effect magnitude.

Effectiveness of horticultural therapy in people with dementia: A quantitative systematic review

To evaluate the effectiveness of horticultural therapy on cognitive function, agitation, positive emotion and engagement in people with dementia. The number of people with dementia is increasing rapidly, and nonpharmacological interventions such as horticultural therapy have been recommended as the first choice for these patients. Horticultural therapy involves participatory and ornamental horticultural therapy. Many original studies have examined the effectiveness of horticultural therapy in the last two decades. However, these studies vary in types of interventions, outcomes and measurement. A quantitative systematic review and meta-analysis. This systematic review was conducted under PRISMA guidelines. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies involving horticultural therapy for people with dementia were included. Risk of bias was assessed by the Cochrane's and Joanna Briggs Institute's tool. Reference lists and a relevant journal were searched. Meta-analyses were conducted using RevMan 5.3. PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, BIOSIS Previews, Web of Science Core Collection, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, SinoMed, Cochrane Library and ProQuest Health & Medical Complete were searched. Studies from database inception to 1 July 2019 were included. This systematic review included 14 studies (4 RCTs and 10 quasi-experimental studies) involving 411 people with dementia. The results of meta-analyses indicated that significant differences were found in the effectiveness of participatory horticultural therapy on total score of cognitive function, agitation, positive emotion and engagement, but not in the effectiveness of ornamental horticultural activities on agitation and positive emotion. The existing evidence supports the effectiveness of participatory horticultural therapy on cognitive function, agitation, positive emotion and engagement. Future high-quality original studies are needed to draw more robust conclusions. The results support the use of participatory horticultural therapy for improving cognitive function, agitation, positive emotion and engagement of people with dementia.

Horticultural Activity: Its Contribution to Stress Recovery and Wellbeing for Children.

In recent years, children’s use of mobile phones has grown rapidly, which might lead to an increase in mental stress and negatively affect their health. Despite increasing evidence that horticultural activity can provide significant health benefits, few scientific evidence-based studies are currently available regarding these benefits to children’s health and wellbeing in schools. Therefore, this study aims to determine the potential benefits of horticultural activity for children from both psychological and physiological perspectives. Twenty-six elementary school students (mean age, 8.12 ± 0.21 years) were asked to perform a plant-related task and a mobile game task for 5 min. During both tasks, physiological sensors were used to measure the participants’ heart rate variability, skin conductance, and skin temperature. Additionally, the participants’ emotional responses were assessed using semantic differential and State–Trait Anxiety Inventory tests immediately after each task. Results revealed that, compared with the mobile game task, participants’ health statuses were positively correlated with the horticultural task, including a considerable decrease in skin conductance and sympathetic nervous activity, together with a marginal increase in parasympathetic nervous activity. Such responses suggested that horticultural activity increased relaxation and decreased feelings of stress. Furthermore, the horticultural activity was associated with a substantial increment in comfort, naturalness, relaxation, and cheerfulness feelings, as well as a significant reduction in depression and a reduction in total anxiety levels. Given these positive benefits, horticultural activity may provide a great contribution to children’s healthy life at school, prompt psychological relaxation and minimize mental stress relative to smartphone games.

Horticultural therapy program for improving emotional well-being of elementary school students: an observational study

BackgroundChildren in modern society are exposed to high levels of stress. Various previous studies have reported that horticultural activities help children’s emotional stability. The objective of this study is to develop and implement a horticultural therapy program to improve the emotional intelligence, resilience, and self-efficacy of elementary school students. MethodsA total of 582 Korean students (11–13 years old) from 28 schools participated in this study. The horticultural therapy program consisted of seven sessions and was conducted once a week for 60 min per session, during regular or after-school classes. Before and after the horticultural therapy program, emotional intelligence, resilience, and self-efficacy of the elementary school students were assessed using questionnaires. At the end of the program, students evaluated their satisfaction with the program. ResultsThe horticultural therapy program significantly improved emotional intelligence (p = 0.000), resilience (p = 0.001), and self-efficacy (p = 0.003) of the elementary students participating in this study. After the program, emotional intelligence improved both male and female students. In resilience and self-efficacy, male students improved after the program, but female students did not. ConclusionThis study may show a potential of horticultural therapy for psycho-emotional health of children.