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. 2023 Jul 26:14:1086121.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1086121. eCollection 2023.

Horticultural therapy for stress reduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Shan Lu  1 , Jianjiao Liu  2 , Meijing Xu  1 , Feng Xu  1
Affiliations

Horticultural therapy for stress reduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Shan Lu et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Introduction: Horticultural therapy has been increasingly accepted as a non-pharmacological stress reduction treatment. Previous studies have demonstrated its therapeutic effects, with the effect varying according to the populations, settings, and interventions of horticultural therapy. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive review of the current literature regarding the effectiveness of horticultural therapy in reducing stress.

Methods: We selected databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and VIP Data as our data source, and the original search was completed in January 2023.

Results: Our results showed significantly increased effects of horticultural therapy on psychological indicators compared to a control group, but an insignificant effect on physiology indicators. The result of the subgroup analysis demonstrated that the stress-reducing effects of horticultural therapy were related to the characteristics of the population and indoor and virtual areas were the most effective setting for horticultural therapy. At the same time, a total duration of 100-500 minutes provided better effects of stress reduction.

Discussion: We also developed a theoretical framework based on a "Participants-Settings-Interventions" structure for horticulture therapy in terms of its stress-reduction effects, to provide a reference for future horticultural therapy activities.

Keywords: environmental settings; horticultural activities; meta-analysis; stress; theoretical framework.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram for the systematic review process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of the risk of bias of included studies.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects on the physiology indicators.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects on the physiology indicators.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(A) Results of participant-related subgroup analysis. (B) Results from setting-related subgroup analysis. (C) Results from intervention-related subgroup analysis.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Funnel plot.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission (project no. Z201100008020004).

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