Table 7.
Summary of associations between forest-based interventions and health effects/outcomes in mental health.
| Health Effects/ Outcomes | Forest-Based Interventions | Reference of Association (+) | Reference of Association (+/−) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mental Health | Stress(cortisol level/PROs) | Walking in forest area; forest healing program | Lee, I. et al. (2017) [32] | |
| Forest healing program (with cognitive behavioural rehabilitation) | Oh, B. et al. (2017) [19] | |||
| Forest activity; forest healing program | Song, M. K. and Bang, K. -S. (2017) [34] | |||
| Walking/activity/rest in forest area | Wen, Y et al. (2019) [36] | |||
| Forest bathing: spending time in a forest, walking, resting, watching, and deep breathing for a limited time in forest | Antonelli, M. et al. (2019) [27] | |||
| Anxiety and depression (PROs) | Walking in forest area, resting in the forest, forest healing program, forest therapy | Lee, I. et al. (2017) [32] | ||
| Forest healing program (with cognitive behavioural rehabilitation) | Oh, B. et al. (2017) [19] | |||
| Activity in forest area, forest experience program | Song, M. K. and Bang, K. -S. (2017) [34] | |||
| Walking/activity/mediation/rest in forest area | Wen, Y. et al. (2019) [36] | |||
| Waking, mediation in forest area, forest therapy program | Kotera, Y. et al. (2020) [29] | |||
| Walking, activity, resting in forest area, forest experience program | Lee, I. et al. (2017) [32] | |||
| Negative emotions(PROs) | Walking in forest area | Oh, B. et al. (2017) [19] | ||
| Activity in forest area, forest experience program, forest ecology exploration | Song, M. K. and Bang, K. -S. (2017) [34] | |||
| Walking/activity/rest in forest area | Wen, Y. et al. (2019) [36] | |||
| Walking, resting/breathing in forest area, recreation program, forest therapy program, forest bathing program | Kotera, Y. et al. (2020) [29] | |||
| Quality of life/well-being(PROs) | Walking in the forest; forest-healing program, forest therapy | Lee, I. et al. (2017) [32] | ||
| Activities in the forest | Song, M. K. and Bang, K. -S. (2017) [34] | |||
| Walking/activities in the forest | Wen, Y. et al. (2019) [36] |
PRO: patient reported outcome; +: mainly improvement; +/−: mixed results.