Nature-based rehabilitation-experiences from patients with acquired brain injury: an explorative qualitative study.

PURPOSE: Nature has been found to improve and promote health and prevent disease. Nature-based rehabilitation (NBR) delivered as part of neurorehabilitation is a developing approach. Yet to date the research is sparse. Following an acquired brain injury (ABI), people often experience impairments that cause limitations in activity and participation in daily life, which can impact the quality of life long-term. NBR delivered in neurorehabilitation has previously been explored from the perspective of occupational therapists and physiotherapists, however, to date patients' experiences are yet to be explored. This study aims to explore patients' experiences and perspectives of NBR delivered as part of standard neurorehabilitation. METHODS: This qualitative study had a constructivist and phenomenological design. Semi-structured focus group interviews were carried out across three healthcare settings in Denmark with 17 participants. Data was analysed using content analysis. RESULTS: The analysis generated three categories: 1. Outdoor versus indoor environment, 2. The natural environment as a co-therapist, and 3. Interrelatedness. CONCLUSION: The study provides insight into participants' experiences of NBR. They reported that interacting with the natural environment as part of neurorehabilitation enhanced activity. Moreover, being in nature increased their self-efficacy, sense of autonomy, community spirit, cooperation, and joy, and led to a feeling of peace.

Nature-based rehabilitation (NBR) delivered as part of neurorehabilitation provides an alternative to indoor rehabilitation.The natural environment offers multisensory stimulation, sensory-motor training, and opportunities for mental restoration.NBR promotes social engagement, cooperation, and feelings of being in the same boat and may increase autonomy, self-efficacy, activity, and participation.NBR can be designed and delivered in a way where the natural environment and the intervention promote individual and group rehabilitation.The benefits of NBR in neurorehabilitation for patients appear to be an underexposed topic, and the intervention may provide an opportunity for improving rehabilitation for patients with acquired brain injury.

Exercise-based rehabilitation in and with nature: a scoping review mapping available interventions.

INTRODUCTION: Exercise is an effective component in rehabilitation of a range of chronic conditions. There is a growing interest in the use of exercise-based nature interacted rehabilitation (EBNIR), but an overview of current evidence is missing. The objective of this scoping review was to map existing exercise-based rehabilitation interventions conducted with incidental or intentional nature interaction focusing on its populations, types of outcomes, and theoretical rationale for people with physical and mental disabilities. METHODS: This scoping review identified peer-reviewed publications, registered upcoming trials and grey literature. To map all available knowledge, a comprehensive search of selected databases (MEDLINE; EMBASE; CINAHL; Cochrane; Web of Science; Pedro) from inception to October 2022. Data were synthesized in a thematic presentation guided by TIDieR, supplemented by a checklist developed for this study accounting nature incidental or intentional interaction. RESULTS: Twelve studies including 856 participants met the inclusion criteria. Eleven were completed trials and one was registered in clinicaltrials.gov to be run in 2023. A total of 856 patients were enrolled in the 12 studies (range 18-262, median 50). The included studies had great variation. The incidental or intentional interacted exercise-based interventions consisted of outdoor walks, neck exercises and surfing interventions in patients with physical or mental health conditions. CONCLUSIONS: This scoping review presents an overview of limited and diverse evidence within the field of EBNIR, in patients with physical or mental health conditions. Our review provides an overview that will be helpful in the design of future EBNIR trials.

"I look at my own forest and fields in a different way": the lived experience of nature-based therapy in a therapy garden when suffering from stress-related illness.

Evidence confirms that nature-based therapy (NBT) has a positive effect on people with mental illnesses. However, there is a lack of evidence on the meaning of NBT for specific patient groups. The Nacadia® Therapy Garden was designed according to an evidence-based design process, and an NBT programme was developed. The aim of the study was to illuminate the phenomenon of participants' lived experience of the NBT in Nacadia. Fourteen participants took part in semi-structured interviews (SSIs), and by way of reflective lifeworld research, the SSIs were analysed to identify and describe the meanings of the phenomenon. The essence of the phenomenon was found to be a process of adopting a searching approach to NBT and Nacadia to become familiar with the conditions. This familiarity stimulated the development of confidentiality and attachment to Nacadia. Feeling protected, safe, cared for, and not exposed was important, and motivated feelings of freedom, reduced demands, and increased the ability to access and try a spectrum of NBT activities. It encouraged participants to develop personal approaches and coping strategies to implement in their everyday lives for moving on.