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

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

134 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-12-18

Study Completion Date

2025-04-23

Brief Summary

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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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Detailed Description

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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.

Conditions

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Chronic Disease Risk Reduction Mental Health Wellness 1 Physical Inactivity Sleep Depression Anxiety

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

In total a goal of 240 patients will be recruited and randomised in a 1:1 ration to either the intervention or control group. This means 120 of them will be assigned to the study group and 120 to the assigned to the control group. The intervention group will receive health advice and a park prescription by their health care provider while the control group will receive regular health advice regarding lifestyle.

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

Study Groups

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Intervention

The treatment group will receive information regarding wellness factors by the doctor (health advice) and they will be asked to follow those recommendations for the duration of the study. In addition they will also receive a park prescription specifying a 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.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Park prescription

Intervention Type 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

Intervention Type 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.

Control

The control group will receive regular health advice and information regarding wellness factors by the doctor and they will be asked to follow those recommendations for the duration of the study.

Group Type OTHER

Regular health advice

Intervention Type 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.

Interventions

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Park prescription

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.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Regular health advice

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.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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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

Minimum Eligible Age

13 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No