Trial reportPloS one2022
A pilot randomized controlled trial of group-based indoor gardening and art activities demonstrates therapeutic benefits to healthy women.
Trial report in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03266120 (Assessing Human Health Benefits of Gardening), which is not on this map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 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.
Assessing Human Health Benefits of Gardening
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effectiveness of nature-based interventions on mental health: A systematic review.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2026Pooled it
- Horticultural therapy for stress reduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Nurse‑led horticultural activities as an early intervention for mild‑to‑moderate depressive symptoms among youth in Hong Kong: an exploratory randomised controlled trial.BMC public health · 2026Trial
- Effects of an Agro-Healing Horticultural Intervention on Stress, Self-Esteem, and PANSS Scores in Inpatients with Schizophrenia: A Quasi-Experimental Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Evaluating the Well-Being Benefits and Social Value of Volunteer Gardening: Health Economics Meets Behavioral Science.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Interactions with Nature, Good for the Mind and Body: A Narrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Review
- Effectiveness of social and therapeutic horticulture for reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Review
- Which horticultural activities are more effective for children's recovery from stress and mental fatigue? A quasi-experimental study.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- The role of arts engagement in reducing cognitive decline and improving quality of life in healthy older people: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is mounting anecdotal and empirical evidence that gardening and art-making afford therapeutic benefits.
objectivesThis randomly controlled pilot study tested the hypothesis that participation in group-based indoor gardening or art-making activities for one hour twice a week for four weeks would provide quantifiably different therapeutic benefits to a population of healthy women ages 26-49.
methodsA population of 42 volunteers was randomly assigned to parallel gardening or art-making treatment groups. A total of 36 participants initiated the treatment protocol and 32 (Gardening n = 15 and Art n = 17) received the interventions and completed all assessments. Treatments included eight one-hour group-based gardening or art intervention sessions. Self-report psychometric assessments were conducted for anxiety, depression symptomatology, mood disturbance, stress, satisfaction with discretionary social activities, and quality of life measures. Cardiac physiological data were also collected. Outcomes were measured at baseline, during, and post-intervention.
resultsEngaging in both gardening and art-making activities resulted in apparent therapeutic improvements for self-reported total mood disturbance, depression symptomatology, and perceived stress with different effect sizes following eight one-hour treatment sessions. Gardening also resulted in improvements for indications of trait anxiety. Based on time-course evidence, dosage responses were observed for total mood disturbance, perceived stress, and depression symptomatology for both gardening and art-making. However, gardening or art-making did not have an apparent influence on heart rate or blood pressure or result in marked improvement for satisfaction with discretionary leisure activities.
conclusionThe data did not support the hypothesis of differential therapeutic benefits of gardening and art-making for healthy women. When taken together, group-based gardening or art-making can provide quantitatively measurable improvements in healthy women's psychosocial health status that imply potentially important public health benefits.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03266120.
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Identifiers
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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.