Perceptions of participants and organisers of a social prescribing programme for hospital staff through horticulture (SP4S-H) in the community hospitals in Singapore: a qualitative study.

objectivesHospital workers face multiple biopsychosocial stressors in the course of their work, which could potentially be addressed by social prescribing of horticultural activities. However, the effectiveness of such interventions has not been evaluated. We conducted a qualitative study to understand the perceptions of participants and organisers of a horticulture-based social prescribing intervention for staff (SP4S-H) in three community hospitals in Singapore.

designThe RE-AIM Planning and Evaluation Framework was used to develop our semistructured interview guides and guided our thematic analysis. Indepth interviews were conducted with subsequent transcribing, coding and iterative analysis until thematic saturation was reached.

settingThree community hospitals in Singapore, between May 2022 and June 2024.

participants26 hospital staff.

resultsSP4S-H was perceived to have a positive impact on staff, including increasing their knowledge on horticulture, team bonding, positive emotions and self-help skills. Barriers to participation included participants preferring not to spend time outside working hours (ie, lunch hours) for SP4S-H or attending physical meetings. Appealing to the interest of staff, overcoming barriers in their attendance, organising the events and improving the working culture of participants were found to influence the reach, implementation and sustainability of SP4S-H.

conclusionSP4S-H was perceived to be beneficial by hospital workers in improving social connectedness and their ability to cope with stress. The importance of having the support of senior management, adequacy of resources and deliberate staff engagement in rolling out this initiative cannot be underestimated.