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Effectiveness of Nature Walks in Depressed Adults

NCT03996785 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 47

Last updated 2021-11-12

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Over the past few years, a growing number of campaigns from around the world, including Canada, are highlighting the positive impact of spending time in nature on well-¬being. Indeed, mounting evidence suggests that spending time with nature is associated with a myriad of affective and cognitive benefits. Surprisingly few studies to date have tested the assumption that walking in nature versus in urban settings could alleviate stress and depressive symptoms in clinically depressed adults.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of walking in nature versus in urban settings to improve depression related symptoms and reduce stress. The trial initially included 2 primary outcomes: patients stress levels (salivary cortisol) and depression-related symptoms (eg, affect, rumination, executive functioning).

However, due to hygienic concerns in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the collection of saliva samples (and in turn, the measurement of stress levels via salivary cortisol) was removed from the study's procedure. The main outcome was changed to effects on positive and negative affect.

Conditions

  • Experimental

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Walking in Urban setting

Walking for 60 minutes as described above

BEHAVIORAL

Walking in nature setting

Walking for 60 minutes as described above

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

    collaborator OTHER

  • McGill University

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Marie-Claude Geoffroy, PhD · McGill University

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
65 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2019-06-18
Primary Completion
2021-09-03
Completion
2021-09-03

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Entities

Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT03996785 on ClinicalTrials.gov