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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06001697

Nature and Health: How Does Lifestyle and Environment Affect Health and Wellness

The purpose of this study is to examine if and how implementing nature prescriptions can increase time in nature and improve health to yield an actionable understanding of the nature-health connection. It aims to explore how public green spaces can be better used to improve individual and community health. Finally, this study aims to advance science by conducting a randomized controlled trial to improve understanding of the linkages between time in nature and human health.

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Key information

Conditions

Chronic Disease Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Depression Disease Attributes Mental Disorders Mental Health Wellness 1 Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Personal Satisfaction Physical Inactivity Psychological Well-Being Risk Reduction Risk Reduction Behavior Sedentary Behavior Sleep

Age range

13 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Forbes Family Medicine/AHN Research Institute

Monroeville, Pennsylvania, 15146, United States

About this study

The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial in which physicians prescribe time in nature as an intervention to the study group. In total a goal of 240 patients will be recruited, including both children (13+) and adults. 120 of them will be assigned to the study group and 120 to the assigned to the control group. All study participants will be provided with a Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled wearable device (Garmin Vivosmart 5) that is able to measure their activity levels, location, and additional health-related metrics, such as heart rate. All participants will be asked to provide information about their health and well-being through survey instruments and electronic health records. Both groups (intervention and control) will receive regular health advice targeting lifestyle factors associated with risk of chronic diseases. The treatment group will additionally receive a park prescription with information about the benefits of spending time in nature. They will also received a specified target amount of time to spend in nature, along with frequency of visits and recommended locations (e.g., specific parks), and information about parks and programming in the study area. Participants will also be asked to answer brief questions regarding their mental and physical health, as well as their physical excercise patterns every 72-hours through a research-grade smartphone app called Urban Mind over the course of this study. At baseline and end of study at 6-months the participants will also answer questionnaires that will assess their mental and physical health, as well as lifestyle factors such as physical activity, sleep, stress and exposure to nature. These questionnaires will be administered through the REDCap survey system.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Participants must be a patient of the AHN Forbes Family Medicine clinic.
  • Participants must have one or more chronic conditions, or significant lifestyle risks as identified by their healthcare provider.
  • Participants must be between 13-65 years old.
  • Participants must be willing and able to provide informed consent to participate
  • Participants under 18 must be willing and able to assent for themselves and obtain parental consent.
  • Participants must be willing to comply with all study procedures for the duration of the study.
  • Participants must reside in the greater Pittsburgh area for the duration of 6-month study.
  • Participants must have a smartphone that is capable of running the Urban Mind App and connecting to the Garmin wearable device (iPhone 6 and newer as well as most Android phones).
  • Minors who participate must have their own smartphone.
  • Participants must have their own email address to register with the Urban Mind App and the Garmin App.
  • Only one participant from a household may enroll in the study.
  • Participants must be able to comprehend written English (questionnaires will be provided to participants in English).
  • Participants may not be an employee of Forbes Family Medicine clinic

Exclusion criteria

  • None, must meet all inclusion criteria.

Treatment and study plan

Park prescription

Behavioral

The park prescription given by the patients care-provider includes information about the health benefits of spending time in nature and detailed information about the parks in the neighboring area. As well as access to a web-based platform called ParkRx which includes information and details about events in the parks in the study area. Together with information about the frequency and duration of visits to the parks.

Regular health advice

Behavioral

Regular health advice relating to lifestyle factors that can decrease the risk of chronic disease and/or reducing the burden of an existing chronic disease. Areas included are diet, physical activity, sleep, stress and medications.

Primary outcomes

  1. Nature Exposure Scale II (NES-II)

    Time frame: Baseline and 6-months

    Assess each participant's exposure to nature in everyday life. The Nature Exposure Scale II uses a 5-point likert scale for each item. Higher score means greater exposure to nature. The total score is an average of all the items included.

Secondary outcomes

  1. CDC Health related quality of life - 14 (CDC-HRQOL-14)

    Time frame: Baseline and 6-months

    The Health related quality of life scale rates an individual's perceived physical and mental health over time. The main outcome score is the unhealthy days index, computed by adding a respondent's physically and mentally unhealthy days. Score goes from 0-30 where higher is worse.

  2. Brief-Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (B-PSQI)

    Time frame: Baseline and 6-months

    Brief-Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index assesses an individuals perceived sleep quality. The questionnaires contains 6 items and the total score ranges from 0-15 where higher scores indicate worse sleep.

  3. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)

    Time frame: Baseline and 6-months

    The Perceived Stress Scale is a measure of an individuals perceived stress levels. 10-items with scoring from 0-4 were higher is higher levels of perceived stress (worse). Total score is obtained by summing across all items.

  4. International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short form (IPAQ-S)

    Time frame: Baseline and 6-months

    The International Physical Activity Questionnaire - Short Form rates an individuals physical activity levels and types of exercise. The questionnaire consists of 7 items that measures days physically active as well as duration. Scores will calculated as categorical low/medium/high where higher is more active (1-3). And continuous by calculating metabolic equivalent of task (MET) minutes for a week MET-minutes/week where higher is better. 0-10000

  5. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8/PHQ-A)

    Time frame: Baseline and 6-months

    The Patient Health Questionnaire is a scale for measuring depression in adults. The scale has 8 items and the scores ranges from 0-3. The total score ranges from 0-24 where higher is more depression (worse). The Patient Health Questionnaire - Adolescence measures depression in teens (PHQ-A). The scale consists of 9 items and scores from 0-3 and a total score of 27. Where higher scores is worse (more depression).

  6. General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)

    Time frame: Baseline and 6-months

    The General Anxiety Disorder questionnaire is a scale for measuring levels of anxiety in individuals. The scale has 7 items and each items is scored 0-3 where the total score ranges from 0-21 where higher is worse (more anxiety).

  7. Step count

    Time frame: From study start until study end (6 months)

    Daily step count measured through the Garmin Vivosmart 5. Steps measured is day can range from 0 to unlimited where higher steps is considered better (more physical activity). Total steps will be averaged by days to calculate an average steps per days.

  8. Green view index

    Time frame: From study start until study end (6 months)

    Individuals nature exposure level measured through their GPS trajectories and Google Street View (GSV) images. Higher scores is better (more green space exposure).

  9. Urban Mind mental health assessment

    Time frame: From study start until study end (6 months)

    Scores of the mental health assessment taken every 72-hours. The Urban Mind mental health assessment consists of one question which rates mental health from 1-5 where higher is better (poor/fair/good/very good/excellent). The total score will be the average score per day.

  10. Urban Mind physical health assessment

    Time frame: From study start until study end (6 months)

    Scores of the physical health assessment taken every 72-hours. The Urban Mind physical health assessment consists of one question which rates physical health from 1-5 where higher is better (poor/fair/good/very good/excellent). The total score will be the average score per day.

  11. Urban Mind physical activity assessment

    Time frame: From study start until study end (6 months)

    Scores of the physical activity assessment taken every 72-hours. The Urban Mind physical activity assessment consists of one question which rates physical activity in minutes by increments where higher is better (None/<10/10-30/30-60/60-120/>120. The categories are converted into likert scale scores 1-6 and the total score is the average score.

  12. Urban Mind nature exposure assessment

    Time frame: From study start until study end (6 months)

    Scores of the nature exposure assessment taken every 72-hours. The Urban Mind nature exposure assessment consists of one question which rates nature exposure in minutes by increments where higher is better (None/<10/10-30/30-60/60-120/>120. The categories are converted into likest scale scores 1-6 and the total score is the average score.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Stanford University

Other

Collaborators

  • Allegheny Singer Research Institute (also known as Allegheny Health Network Research Institute)
  • Richard King Mellon Foundation

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Aug 21, 2023
Registry last updated
May 6, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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