SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2022
Effects of Forest-Based Interventions on Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Psychological and Physical Effects of Forests on Human Health: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Spending time in a forest vs. a virtual forest simulation: qualitative and quantitative effects on stress perception and psychological wellbeing in a randomized cross-over trial of highly sensitive persons.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Trial
- Effects of Urban Forest Therapy Program on Depression Patients.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Validating the Effectiveness of Forest Therapy Programs for Middle-Aged Korean Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analytic Approach.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Forest Bathing (Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Nature-based physical activity in breast cancer survivors: a new frontier in supportive care.Oncology reviews · 2026Article
- Effect of Anti-Aging Standard Forest Healing Program With Multiple Visits to a Forest Facility on Cognition in Older Age Patients.Dementia and neurocognitive disorders · 2024Article
- Benefits of Urban Forest Healing Program on Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Depressive Patients.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- A Forest Bathing Intervention in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: A Feasibility Study Protocol.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Mindful Eco-Wellness: Steps Toward Personal and Planetary Health.Global advances in integrative medicine and healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Forest-based interventions are a promising alternative therapy for enhancing mental health. The current study investigated the effects of forest therapy on anxiety, depression, and negative and positive mental condition through a meta-analysis of recent randomized controlled trials, using the PRISMA guideline. Of 825 articles retrieved from databases including PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane, and PsycINFO, 6 met the inclusion criteria. The results of this study showed that forest-based interventions improved the mental health of participants in the intervention groups when compared to those in the control groups. Thirty-four outcome variables were analyzed from six studies. The overall effect size of the forest therapy programs was 1.25 (95% CI = 0.93−1.57, p < 0.001), which was large and statistically significant. These findings imply that forest-based interventions can improve mental health as a nonpharmacological intervention. This study is significant in that it is a meta-analysis of mental health that included only high-quality domestic and international RCTs. In future studies, more RCTs related to various forest interventions and studies involving many participants should be undertaken, which will complement heterogeneity in future meta-analysis studies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.