Forest Bathing Intervention for Persons Living with Dementia and Family Carers

NCT ID: NCT06813196

Last Updated: 2025-02-10

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 107 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-04-22
• Study Completion Date: 2024-08-17

Brief Summary

This study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a forest bathing intervention for people living with dementia and their family carers, and examined its effectivness on care burden and quality of life by comparing to an art activty programme as control group.

Conditions

Dementia; Caregiver Mental Health

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Forest bathing

The modified forest bathing intervention was designed by a qualified forest therapist certified by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. The intervention protocol was developed based on existing forest bathing protocol and modified after field-testing with family caregivers. The intervention consisted of 3 sessions, delivered every two weeks, with approximately two hours per session. Each session took place at a suitable park in the participant's community. During the session, a group of 6 to 8 dyads of people living with dementia and their caregivers were guided by a trained forest therapy guide to engage in nature-based activities, such as walking in the woods, listening to the nature, and interacting with objects in the nature through different sensations. In between sessions, caregivers were encouraged to guide the PLwD and practice similar nature-based activities at times and locations at their convenience.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Forest Bathing

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Forest bathing intervention is a group structured psychosocial intervention. Its core therapeutic element is its nature-based activities that took place in an outdoor green space. During the session, participants would be guided by a trained forest therapy guide to engage in nature-based activities, such as walking in the woods, listening to the nature, and interacting with objects in the nature through different sensations.

Art activity

The art activity intervention was modified from usual art activity session organised by the social service providers for family caregivers and PLwD. It consisted of 3 sessions, delivered every two weeks, with approximately two hours per session. Each session took place in an elderly community centre in the participant's neighbourhood. During the session, participants were guided to engage in individual or collaborative art activities of different forms, such as photo frame of dried flowers, plushball painting, and paper quilling. All the sessions were delivered by a social worker or program worker with experience in art-based activities.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Art activity

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Art activity intervention is a group semi-structured psychosocial intervention. Its main therapeutic element is its engagement in art-based activites. During the session, participants would be guided in individual or collaborative art activities of different forms, such as painting, paper arts, and dried flower art, by an experienced interventionist in an activity room.

Interventions

Forest Bathing

Forest bathing intervention is a group structured psychosocial intervention. Its core therapeutic element is its nature-based activities that took place in an outdoor green space. During the session, participants would be guided by a trained forest therapy guide to engage in nature-based activities, such as walking in the woods, listening to the nature, and interacting with objects in the nature through different sensations.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Art activity

Art activity intervention is a group semi-structured psychosocial intervention. Its main therapeutic element is its engagement in art-based activites. During the session, participants would be guided in individual or collaborative art activities of different forms, such as painting, paper arts, and dried flower art, by an experienced interventionist in an activity room.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• For family careivers:
• taking care of a family member living with dementia in the community,
• For people living with dementia:
• Clinical diagnosis of mild to moderate dementia

Exclusion Criteria

• For both:
• Unable to communicate in Chinese or Cantonese
• Unable to participate meaningfully in group activities due to intellectual disability, visual impairment, hearing impairment, or other health conditions, were excluded.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

The University of Hong Kong

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Choy Chak Pui Jacky

Research Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Chak Pui Jacky Choy, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

The University of Hong Kong

Locations

The University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Countries

Hong Kong

Other Identifiers

EA240180

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id