Effects of Forest Therapy on Cognitive Performance and Mental Health in Older Adults Health in Older Adults

Summary

In Taiwan, aging is happening at a fast pace. The Taiwan Ministry of Interior officially announced that Taiwan will become an aged society in April 2018 and is expected to transition into a hyper-aged society within eight years. Critically, scholars recognize that optimizing cognitive activity and wellbeing influences quality of life in a late life which in turn is a key factor for successful aging. To alleviate the social and economic impact of aging, as well as impact on families, there is a need for studying anti-aging approaches. The World Health Organization suggests that the general public should have a healthy lifestyle which includes participating in activities for physical health, as well as cognitive and mental health involving maintaining social interactions. This present research is part of a broader integrated program in which the purpose is to promote and study the efficacy of forest therapy on physical health, and cognitive and mental health in older adults. The study site is located at the National Taiwan Science Education Center (NTSEC) which includes wetlands, waterfronts, green-spaces and urban parks. The investigators will evaluate two types of interventions for participants, "forest therapy program" and "fitness program" for older adults. The study approach applies a between-subjects and pretest-posttest design. The investigators will collect participants' physical data, psychological responses, and cognitive performance in the course of both programs. By comparing these data before and after the intervention programs, the investigators seek to understand the both programs' effects on physical health, and cognitive and mental health.

Conditions

• Forest Therapy for Cognition

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Forest therapy training

Participants will experience nature-based interventions including forest hiking, horticultural therapy and green wellness activities for their mental health and physical conditions.

BEHAVIORAL

Senior fitness training

The fitness program includes physics fitness of stamina, coordination and aerobic exercise in 12 weeks. Participants will join the senior fitness program including physical fitness, aerobic exercise and exercise prescription during the 12 weeks program.

BEHAVIORAL

Board Games

Participants will play board games with each other.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• National Taiwan University

  collaborator OTHER

• National Taiwan Science Education Center

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• National Taiwan University Hospital

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Chia-Pin Yu, Ph.D. · National Taiwan University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-09-01

Primary Completion

2023-07-31

Completion

2024-07-31

Countries

• Taiwan

Study Locations