IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v14y2017i3p321-d93590.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of Forest Therapy on Depressive Symptoms among Adults: A Systematic Review

Author

Listed:
  • Insook Lee

    (Faculty of College of Nursing, The Research Institute of Nursing Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea)

  • Heeseung Choi

    (Faculty of College of Nursing, The Research Institute of Nursing Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea)

  • Kyung-Sook Bang

    (Faculty of College of Nursing, The Research Institute of Nursing Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea)

  • Sungjae Kim

    (Faculty of College of Nursing, The Research Institute of Nursing Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea)

  • MinKyung Song

    (College of Nursing, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea)

  • Buhyun Lee

    (College of Nursing, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Korea)

Abstract

This study systematically reviewed forest therapy programs designed to decrease the level of depression among adults and assessed the methodological rigor and scientific evidence quality of existing research studies to guide future studies. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The authors independently screened full-text articles from various databases using the following criteria: (1) intervention studies assessing the effects of forest therapy on depressive symptoms in adults aged 18 years and older; (2) studies including at least one control group or condition; (3) peer-reviewed studies; and (4) been published either in English or Korean before July 2016. The Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network measurement tool was used to assess the risk of bias in each trial. In the final sample, 28 articles (English: 13, Korean: 15) were included in the systematic review. We concluded that forest therapy is an emerging and effective intervention for decreasing adults’ depression levels. However, the included studies lacked methodological rigor. Future studies assessing the long-term effect of forest therapy on depression using rigorous study designs are needed.

Suggested Citation

  • Insook Lee & Heeseung Choi & Kyung-Sook Bang & Sungjae Kim & MinKyung Song & Buhyun Lee, 2017. "Effects of Forest Therapy on Depressive Symptoms among Adults: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:3:p:321-:d:93590
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/3/321/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/3/321/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Charness, Gary & Gneezy, Uri & Kuhn, Michael A., 2012. "Experimental methods: Between-subject and within-subject design," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 81(1), pages 1-8.
    2. Masahiro Horiuchi & Junko Endo & Norimasa Takayama & Kazutaka Murase & Norio Nishiyama & Haruo Saito & Akio Fujiwara, 2014. "Impact of Viewing vs . Not Viewing a Real Forest on Physiological and Psychological Responses in the Same Setting," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-19, October.
    3. Norimasa Takayama & Kalevi Korpela & Juyoung Lee & Takeshi Morikawa & Yuko Tsunetsugu & Bum-Jin Park & Qing Li & Liisa Tyrväinen & Yoshifumi Miyazaki & Takahide Kagawa, 2014. "Emotional, Restorative and Vitalizing Effects of Forest and Urban Environments at Four Sites in Japan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-24, July.
    4. Jin-Woo Han & Han Choi & Yo-Han Jeon & Chong-Hyeon Yoon & Jong-Min Woo & Won Kim, 2016. "The Effects of Forest Therapy on Coping with Chronic Widespread Pain: Physiological and Psychological Differences between Participants in a Forest Therapy Program and a Control Group," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-13, February.
    5. Chorong Song & Harumi Ikei & Maiko Kobayashi & Takashi Miura & Masao Taue & Takahide Kagawa & Qing Li & Shigeyoshi Kumeda & Michiko Imai & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2015. "Effect of Forest Walking on Autonomic Nervous System Activity in Middle-Aged Hypertensive Individuals: A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-13, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kathleen L. Wolf & Sharon T. Lam & Jennifer K. McKeen & Gregory R.A. Richardson & Matilda van den Bosch & Adrina C. Bardekjian, 2020. "Urban Trees and Human Health: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-30, June.
    2. Margaret M. Hansen & Reo Jones & Kirsten Tocchini, 2017. "Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) and Nature Therapy: A State-of-the-Art Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-48, July.
    3. Albert Bach Pagès & Josep Peñuelas & Jana Clarà & Joan Llusià & Ferran Campillo i López & Roser Maneja, 2020. "How Should Forests Be Characterized in Regard to Human Health? Evidence from Existing Literature," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Kaili Chen & Tianzheng Zhang & Fangyuan Liu & Yingjie Zhang & Yan Song, 2021. "How Does Urban Green Space Impact Residents’ Mental Health: A Literature Review of Mediators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-27, November.
    5. Hiromi Suenaga & Kanako Murakami & Nozomi Murata & Syoriki Nishikawa & Masae Tsutsumi & Hiroshi Nogaki, 2020. "The Effects of an Artificial Garden on Heart Rate Variability among Healthy Young Japanese Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-10, December.
    6. Sus Sola Corazon & Ulrik Sidenius & Dorthe Varning Poulsen & Marie Christoffersen Gramkow & Ulrika Karlsson Stigsdotter, 2019. "Psycho-Physiological Stress Recovery in Outdoor Nature-Based Interventions: A Systematic Review of the Past Eight Years of Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-21, May.
    7. Hyeyun Kim & Yong Won Lee & Hyo Jin Ju & Bong Jin Jang & Yeong In Kim, 2019. "An Exploratory Study on the Effects of Forest Therapy on Sleep Quality in Patients with Gastrointestinal Tract Cancers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-7, July.
    8. Hiroko Ochiai & Harumi Ikei & Chorong Song & Maiko Kobayashi & Takashi Miura & Takahide Kagawa & Qing Li & Shigeyoshi Kumeda & Michiko Imai & Yoshifumi Miyazaki, 2015. "Physiological and Psychological Effects of a Forest Therapy Program on Middle-Aged Females," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-11, December.
    9. Seong-Hee Jo & Jin-Seok Park & Poung-Sik Yeon, 2021. "The Effect of Forest Video Using Virtual Reality on the Stress Reduction of University Students Focused on C University in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-11, December.
    10. Chia-Pin Yu & Chia-Min Lin & Ming-Jer Tsai & Yu-Chieh Tsai & Chun-Yu Chen, 2017. "Effects of Short Forest Bathing Program on Autonomic Nervous System Activity and Mood States in Middle-Aged and Elderly Individuals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-12, August.
    11. Norimasa Takayama & Akio Fujiwara & Haruo Saito & Masahiro Horiuchi, 2017. "Management Effectiveness of a Secondary Coniferous Forest for Landscape Appreciation and Psychological Restoration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-22, July.
    12. Bingyang Lyu & Chengcheng Zeng & Shouhong Xie & Di Li & Wei Lin & Nian Li & Mingyan Jiang & Shiliang Liu & Qibing Chen, 2019. "Benefits of A Three-Day Bamboo Forest Therapy Session on the Psychophysiology and Immune System Responses of Male College Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-18, December.
    13. Jonah D’Angelo & Stephen D. Ritchie & Bruce Oddson & Dominique D. Gagnon & Tomasz Mrozewski & Jim Little & Sebastien Nault, 2023. "Using Heart Rate Variability Methods for Health-Related Outcomes in Outdoor Contexts: A Scoping Review of Empirical Studies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-19, January.
    14. Agnes Peterfalvi & Matyas Meggyes & Lilla Makszin & Nelli Farkas & Eva Miko & Attila Miseta & Laszlo Szereday, 2021. "Forest Bathing Always Makes Sense: Blood Pressure-Lowering and Immune System-Balancing Effects in Late Spring and Winter in Central Europe," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-19, February.
    15. Jiyune Yi & Seul Gee Kim & Taegyu Khil & Minja Shin & Jin-Hee You & Sookja Jeon & Gue Hong Park & Ah Young Jeong & Youngsuwn Lim & Kahye Kim & Jingun Kim & Byunghoon Kang & Jueun Lee & Jeong Hwan Park, 2021. "Psycho-Electrophysiological Benefits of Forest Therapies Focused on Qigong and Walking with Elderly Individuals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-16, March.
    16. Chia-Pin Yu & Heng-Ting Chen & Pei-Hua Chao & Jie Yin & Ming-Jer Tsai, 2021. "The Role of Social Context in Physiological and Psychological Restoration in a Forest: Case Study of a Guided Forest Therapy Program in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-17, September.
    17. Ernest Bielinis & Aneta Jaroszewska & Adrian Łukowski & Norimasa Takayama, 2019. "The Effects of a Forest Therapy Programme on Mental Hospital Patients with Affective and Psychotic Disorders," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-10, December.
    18. Eunjin Kim & Hwayong Lee, 2023. "Seasonal Forest Changes of Color and Temperature: Effects on the Mood and Physiological State of University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(14), pages 1-16, July.
    19. Jiyune Yi & Boncho Ku & Seul Gee Kim & Taegyu Khil & Youngsuwn Lim & Minja Shin & Sookja Jeon & Jingun Kim & Byunghoon Kang & Jongyeon Shin & Kahye Kim & Ah Young Jeong & Jeong Hwan Park & Jungmi Choi, 2019. "Traditional Korean Medicine-Based Forest Therapy Programs Providing Electrophysiological Benefits for Elderly Individuals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-20, November.
    20. Norimasa Takayama & Takeshi Morikawa & Kazuko Koga & Yoichi Miyazaki & Kenichi Harada & Keiko Fukumoto & Yuji Tsujiki, 2022. "Exploring the Physiological and Psychological Effects of Digital Shinrin-Yoku and Its Characteristics as a Restorative Environment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:3:p:321-:d:93590. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.