Process and Outcomes of Horticultural Therapy for People With Disabilities

NCT04917666 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: HSEARS20191030004
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 50
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Horticultural therapy (HT) "is the engagement of a client in horticulture activities facilitated by a trained therapist to achieve specific and documented treatment goals" (American Horticultural Therapy Association, 2012). People's interactions with plants, through goal-orientated horticultural activities in the form of active gardening, as well as the passive appreciation of nature, could be therapeutic to people with mental or intellectual disabilities in many ways (Eling, 2006; Parkinson, Lowe, \& Vecsey, 2011). This study aims to conduct evaluation studies of HT group programmes for care home residents with severe mental illness.

Conditions

Mental Disorders, Severe; Intellectual Disability

Keywords

horticultural therapy; severe mental illness; care home residents

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Change in Mental Well-being

  Chinese Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (C-SWEMWBS). The C-SWEMWBS uses a five-point Likert scale. The average scores for the scale ranges between 1 and 5, and a higher score indicates better mental well-being.

  Pre-test, Postest (8 weeks from pre-test), Change from Pretest to Posttest is assessed

• Change in Engagement in Meaningful Activity Scale (EMAS)

  Engagement in Meaningful Activity Scale (EMAS). The EMAS has 12 items measured on a four-point Likert scale. The average score for the scale is 1- 4 and a higher score indicates higher engagement.

  Pre-test, Postest (8 weeks from pre-test), Change from Pretest to Posttest is assessed

• Change in Perceived Benefits of Horticultural Therapy

  This is a opinion survey developed by the clinical setting to collect participants' attitude toward horticultural therapy. It has 7 items and participants are asked to respond using a five-point scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree". The average score ranges from 1 to 5, and a higher score indicates that the participant perceived the benefits of horticulture therapy as higher.

  Pre-test, Postest (8 weeks from pre-test), Change from Pretest to Posttest is assessed

Study Arms (2)

Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants joined a 8-session horticultural therapy group program (60 minutes per session) over 8 weeks.

Behavioral: Horticultural therapy

Comparison

OTHER

Participants joined 4 sessions of individual, parallel, and table-top activities of their own interest, e.g. reading, drawing, coloring.

Other: Comparison

Interventions

Horticultural therapy BEHAVIORAL

A structured 8-session group therapy program, in which participants learn about plants, green spaces, plant-human interactions. During the program, the participants are guided by therapist to grow or take care of both indoor and outdoor plants, do small horticulture projects (like cooking, making drinks, herb projects).

Treatment

Comparison OTHER

4 session of semi-structured and free engagement in activities of their choice. The activities that they could choose are mostly table-top activities which are solitary in nature, and does not require social interaction.

Comparison

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• diagnosis of severe mental disorder, e.g. schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder.
• age 18 - 65.
• care home resident

You may not qualify if:

• organic brain disorder
• difficulties in communication for joining horticultural activity.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Wong Chuk Hang Complex

Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Mental Disorders; Intellectual Disability

Interventions

Horticultural Therapy

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities

Study Officials

• Andrew MH Siu, PhD

  The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: The outcome assessors have no knowledge of whether the participants are in the treatment of control groups. They distribute and collect questionnaires from participants, and gave observation rating on the participants in both group.
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 1, 2021
• First Posted: June 8, 2021
• Study Start: September 1, 2019
• Primary Completion: September 30, 2020
• Study Completion: January 29, 2021
• Last Updated: June 8, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-03

Locations

HK (1)