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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05472571

Pilot Project of Forest Bathing for Promoting Health

An exploratory trial using a cuasi-experimental design aimed to improve the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities. The intervention consists of 11 consecutive sessions of forest bathing (one session per week), each one lasting about 2 hours. Each session involves an easy walk through a forest area, interspersed with non-intrusive activities of contact with the surrounding nature aimed at fostering mindfulness and the use of the five senses. Data were collected at baseline, post intervention, and 7 months of follow-up.

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Key information

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Universidad de Navarra

Pamplona, Navarre, 31008, Spain

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Adults with intellectual disability enrolled in a specific occupational center.
  • Being informed about the study and having signed the informed consent document.

Exclusion criteria

  • Having stated their not willing to participate in the study

Treatment and study plan

Forest bathing

Other

The intervention consists of 11 consecutive sessions of forest bathing (one session per week), each one lasting about 2 hours. Each session involves an easy walk through a forest area, interspersed with non-intrusive activities of contact with the surrounding nature aimed at fostering mindfulness and the use of the five senses.

Primary outcomes

  1. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure

    Time frame: 1 minute

  2. Heart coherence

    Time frame: 5 minutes

    Using emWave Pro Plus device and software

  3. Perceived quality of life and wellbeing

    Time frame: 30 minutes

    Using INICO-FEAPS questionnaire (Verdugo Alonso et al., 2013): Scale for the Integral Evaluation of the Quality of Life of people with intellectual or developmental disability, developed by the University Institute for Community Integration (INICO) and the Spanish Confederation of Organizations for People with Intellectual or Developmental Disability (FEAPS).

    It is a self-report tool that consists of 72 four-point Likert-type items divided among 8 dimensions: self-determination, rights, emotional wellbeing, social inclusion, personal development, interpersonal relationships, material well-being, and physical well-being. Each dimension is composed of nine items. Each subscale score is calculated by summing up the score for each of the nine items, and a total score is then calculated by summing up the scale scores. Higher scores are associated to better quality of life.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Physiological Equivalent Temperature

    Time frame: 10 minutes

    Following Höppe (1999) procedure

  2. Thermic perception

    Time frame: 3 minutes

    Using questionnaire published in previous studies (Teli et al., 2012; Trebilcock et al., 2017), that includes 3 items to assess thermal sensation vote (TMV) (7-point Likert scale), one item to assess thermal preference vote (TPV) (3-point scale), one item to assess the feeling of comfort (closed-answer), one item to get clothing information (closed-answer), and one item to evaluate the feeling of tiredness (3-point scale). The answers to these questions put the PET value (outcome 4) into context and help interpret it.

  3. Barriers and facilitators

    Time frame: 2 hours

    Field diary

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Universidad de Navarra

Other

Collaborators

  • Fundación Caja Navarra
  • La Caixa Foundation

Registry information

Official study title

FOREST HEALTH: Pilot Project of Forest Bathing for Promoting Health, Human Wellbeing, and for Complementing Sustainable Management Forest and Landscape Practices

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2021
Study completion
2022
First posted
Jul 25, 2022
Registry last updated
Jul 25, 2022

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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