ArticlePsychiatry investigation2012
What is the evidence to support the use of therapeutic gardens for the elderly?
Article in Psychiatry investigation, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02462291 (Effectiveness of Environmental Therapy in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease), which is not on this map. Cited by 30 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effectiveness of Environmental Therapy in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Health effects of plants, light, and natural elements of biophilic interventions in confined settings: a systematic review.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of neighborhood built environment on cognitive function in older adults: a systematic review.BMC geriatrics · 2024Pooled it
- Activities outside of the care setting for people with dementia: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2020Pooled it
- Evidence of what works to support and sustain care at home for people with dementia: a literature review with a systematic approach.BMC geriatrics · 2015Pooled it
- Effect of park prescriptions with and without group visits to parks on stress reduction in low-income parents: SHINE randomized trial.PloS one · 2018Trial
- Analyze the Potential Benefits of Nature-Based Filming for Young People.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Article
- The role of horticultural therapy in the clinical rehabilitation of patients with depression: A scoping review.The Journal of international medical research · 2026Article
- Cultural competence in dementia care: Care workers and managers perspectives on physical and social environments in Long-Term Care.PloS one · 2026Article
- Article
- The experiences and perspectives of participating in a nature integrative rehabilitation programme when suffering from post-concussion syndrome: responses, gains, and impact from using enriched nature environments as a rehabilitation setting and integrating nature as rehabilitation means.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2025Article
- Cultivating Well-Being: An Exploratory Analysis of the Integral Benefits of Urban Gardens in the Promotion of Active Ageing.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Transforming Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine to Address the Climate Crisis: A Call for Strategic Research and Advocacy.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2025Article
- Indoor hydroponic vegetable gardening to improve mental health and quality of life in cancer patients: a pilot study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- The Nature Support Model for Dementia: a conceptual idea for green nursing home environments designed to support well-being throughout the last stages of dementia.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Designing aesthetically authentic, restorative, and socially interactive environments for retirement homes: impacts on senior consumers' relocation intention.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Psychological and physiological benefits of horticultural therapy for Chinese older adults.Hong Kong journal of occupational therapy : HKJOT · 2024Article
- Medical Nature-Based Rehabilitation Program for Individuals with Exhaustion Syndrome: Changes in Quality of Life, Exhaustion Symptoms and Overall Health.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Gardening activity and its relationship to mental health: Understudied and untapped in low-and middle-income countries.Preventive medicine reports · 2022Article
- "I see beauty, I see art, I see design, I see love." Findings from a resident-driven, co-designed gardening program in a long-term care facility.Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice · 2022Article
- Evaluating the Impact of Community Gardening on Sense of Purpose for Persons Living with Dementia: A Cluster-Randomized Pilot Study.Journal of Alzheimer's disease reports · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Horticulture therapy employs plants and gardening activities in therapeutic and rehabilitation activities and could be utilized to improve the quality of life of the worldwide aging population, possibly reducing costs for long-term, assisted living and dementia unit residents. Preliminary studies have reported the benefits of horticultural therapy and garden settings in reduction of pain, improvement in attention, lessening of stress, modulation of agitation, lowering of as needed medications, antipsychotics and reduction of falls. This is especially relevant for both the United States and the Republic of Korea since aging is occurring at an unprecedented rate, with Korea experiencing some of the world's greatest increases in elderly populations. In support of the role of nature as a therapeutic modality in geriatrics, most of the existing studies of garden settings have utilized views of nature or indoor plants with sparse studies employing therapeutic gardens and rehabilitation greenhouses. With few controlled clinical trials demonstrating the positive or negative effects of the use of garden settings for the rehabilitation of the aging populations, a more vigorous quantitative analysis of the benefits is long overdue. This literature review presents the data supporting future studies of the effects of natural settings for the long term care and rehabilitation of the elderly having the medical and mental health problems frequently occurring with aging.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.