• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.673-684
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• 2021

Background and objective: This study seeks to investigate domestic agro-healing farm resources so that preliminary data can be obtained on the systematic provisions for agro-healing programs in order to improve service quality and to identify the quality of agro-healing policy services. Methods: For this study, owners of agro-healing facilities were asked 24 questions via an online survey. An importance-performance analysis (IPA) was conducted to identify service quality for each policy sector. Results: Respondents' satisfaction levels were low when compared to agro-healing farm owners' perceptions of the above-average importance of each sector. The results from the resource analysis of domestic agro-healing farms indicated that the main operational purposes of farms were, in descending order, experience (90.0%), healing (86.7%), and education (84.0%). With respect to the type of program that was operated, cultivating crops (horticultural therapy) was identified most frequently at 83.3%. Conclusion: As a result of this study, the resources possessed by agro-healing farms were identified. In addition, the results of the IPA analysis in terms of service quality are not as good as expected, and performance levels should be increased to improve this. The results of this study are expected to provide useful information not only to improve the quality of agro-healing services, but also to revitalize the agro-healing industry while developing a systematic agro-healing program.

• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.173-183
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to identify differences by business motivation of agro-healing farm s in Korea. A survey was conducted for entrepreneurs in agro-healing farmers with self-administered questionnaires. Main results of this study were as follows: First, business motivation of agro-healing farm s in Korea can be classified to 1) education-oriented, 2) care-oriented, and 3) sale revenue-oriented motivation. Second, care-oriented farms provide healing services to people in need like the disabled. These farms may be required a long-term program such as residence-required format. And these farms need supports of health and medical service personnel or institutions. Third, sale revenue-oriented farms have sources of main income from agricultural products or processed goods made in these farms. Therefore, these farms may be required a business strategy such as product development, marketing rather than agro-healing programs. fourth, the estimation of a Multinominal logistic regression model determines the characteristics of agro-healing entrepreneurs who are most likely to opt for each type motivation of participating for agro-healing farm business. the most important determinants on business motivation of agro-healing farms were 'participants type in programs', 'program operating time', 'supporting health and medical service personnel or institutions' and 'program revenue ratio in farm operating revenue'.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.411-422
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• 2020

Background and objective: This study was conducted to find out the effects of healing farm resources and participant satisfaction on the level of stress and loyalty. Methods: The experiment was conducted on 18 subjects who participated in agro-healing activities (aged 49.5 years on average) and the concentration of cortisol, the level of stress and satisfaction with the services and program of a healing farm. The healing-agriculture activities were performed once a week, a total of 7 sessions, for 90 minutes and their saliva was collected before and after the activities. Results: The concentration of cortisol, a stress hormone, was statistically significantly reduced after the healing-agriculture activities in 5 out of 7 sessions. The total cortisol concentration showed statistically significant differences. The 6th session was comprised of different activities, compared to others, such as understanding weeds, managing a garden and making a pizza with fermentation enzymes, and the level of cortisol in the 6th session was the lowest after participating in the agro-healing activities, which indicated that the activities have the positive effect of lowering the level of stress. The level of stress was lowered from 18.39 to 16.78, which was consistent with the results of the concentration of cortisol. The level of satisfaction in the last session was below 50%, which indicated that the owner of the farm might be a little inexperienced in education and marketing on information and safety. The variables of participants including stress and satisfaction with services showed a strong influence on their loyalty. Conclusion: Satisfaction with services and loyalty to the healing farm showed a very high correlation, which was statistically significant. It also showed that participants' stress level and satisfaction with the services and program of the healing farm have a strong influence on their loyalty.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.445-454
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• 2019

This study was conducted to find out physical changes in the blood pressure and saliva cortisol of patients with high blood pressure and diabetes after participating in agro-healing activities. The saliva cortisol and blood pressure of 14 males and females aged 49.79±10.48 on average were measured after participating in agro-healing activities. The saliva collection system was used, and their satisfaction level for the program was also surveyed. Changes in the values before and after participating in the agro-healing activities were compared and analyzed. The cortisol concentration, a stress hormone, was reduced from 6.76nmol/L before the program to 4.86nmol/L after the program, down by 1.9nmol/L, which was a statistically significant difference (z=-3.170, p<.01). In addition, the cortisol concentration was gradually reduced through the entire program from Session 1 to Session 7. Changes in the blood pressure of subjects before and after participating in agro-healing activities were examined, and the total systolic and diastolic blood pressure continuously decreased after participating in agro-healing activities through the entire program from Session 1 to Session 7. Their systolic blood pressure was reduced statistically significantly (z=-1.947, p<.05). Also, participants' satisfaction was analyzed and it was found that more than 95% of participants answered 'satisfied' and 'very satisfied' with agro-healing activities. Therefore, these results indicate that agro-healing activities performed in the healing-farm had a positive impact on the cortisol concentration and blood pressure of patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. In addition, their high satisfaction for this program seemed to improve the psychological and physiological conditions of subjects.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.573-584
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• 2021

Background and objective: This study was conducted with 10 men and women in their 50s-60s to investigate the effect of agro-healing activities on the improvement of mental health. Methods: The experimental group participated in total 8 sessions of agro-healing activities, once a week for 2 hours each, at a care farm in Wanju-gun. Physiological measurements were taken with an electroencephalogram (EEG), Salivettes samples, and blood pressure before and after the activities. Results: As a result of analyzing the changes in brainwaves of the experimental group before and after agro-healing activities, relative slow alpha (RSA), relative fast alpha (RFA), and ratio of alpha to high beta (RAHB), the indices of stability and relaxation, increased after the program with statistical significance. Also, the ratio of SMR to theta (RST) of the attention index increased on the right frontal lobes, temporal lobes, and left occipital lobes, and relative low beta (RLB) increasd on the frontal lobes, temporal lobes, and occipital lobes after the program with statistical significance. The sympathetic nervous system activity, which is a stress index, decreased after the program, whereas the parasympathetic nervous system activity, which is a relaxation index, increased, showing statistical significance (p < .05). As a result of analyzing the changes in blood pressure after the program, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure decreased from prehypertension to normal blood pressure, showing statistical significance. SThese results indicate that participating in agro-healing activities at a care farm for the 50-60s helps reduce stress and improve stability and relaxation as well as attention. Conclusion: Thus, developing and applying customized agro-healing programs for participants will have a positive effect on brain activity and psychophysiological improvement by relieving tension and stress. However, there are limitations in generalizing the results of this study since most of agro-healing farms have low accessibility that leads to a low level of participants.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.1-11
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• 2019

This study conducted a survey on the recognition and demand such as recognition level, policy necessity, service demand and policy demand by supply types in order to provide the basic data for successful settlement of agro-healing services. According to the survey on awareness, 45.2% of respondents were aware of the healing farming, and 31.3% of respondents had experience in participating in the agro-healing services. 63.6% of respondents replied that they were experiencing reasons for participating in agro-healing services. Respondents who had no knowledge of agro-healing services responded that 76.7% of respondents said they would not participate. More than two-thirds of respondents in all types indicated that they needed agro-healing services. As a result of evaluating the maximum willingness to pay, there was a willingness to pay for farm work healing about 15,800 won, horticulture healing about 14,800 won, forest healing about 13,400 won, and animal assisted healing about 17,000 won. Improving accessibility and strengthening awareness were high priorities for inconveniences and improvements. 70.1% of the respondents said that policies for agro-healing services are needed. Development of agro-healing programs and contents was the first priority for support policy. The result of this study is expected to provide reference data that can be suggested for agro-healing policy establishment.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.555-564
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• 2020

Background and objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of an agro-healing program on the relationship satisfaction and emotional change between parents and children. Methods: We sent an official letter to D Office of Education with information and recruitment for the agro-healing program. Then D Office of Education has sent the official letter to elementary schools under the jurisdiction to recruit parents who were willing to participate in the programs with their children. The subjects were recruited by order of application, and 27 families participated, but 20 parent-child teams who attended all sessions and fully participated in the program were ultimately selected. From October 12 to November 16, 2019, a total of 6 sessions of the programs were held once a week at a care farm in Gyeongsangbuk-do. In the morning, they participated in a program that utilizes the resources of plants and animals in the care farm, and later participated in an indoor horticultural program in the afternoon. Results: In the parent-child relationship satisfaction test, it was found that communication was significantly increased after participating in the agro-healing program (p = .047). There were no statistically significant changes in the sentence completion tests written by the children, but their potential perception or attitude towards their parents changed more positively than before according to the content of the sentences. Conclusion: The agro-healing program could strengthen the relationship between parent and child by improving the parent-child relationship satisfaction and children's emotional attitude towards their parent.

• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.203-213
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• 2021

This study aimed to examine the policy priorities to enhance the service quality of the agro-healing for mental health care using Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA). The subjects were 67 people working in mental health institutions. The result of the IPA for the design of the agro-healing policy, in a total of 5 policy areas, the importance and performance were found to be 'above average', and it was confirmed that 'Keep up the Good Work' level. This is thought to have had a positive effect on raising the policy awareness of experts in mental health related institutions as the government's support for agro-healing and R & D increased according to the enactment of the act. Therefore, the results of this study provided basic information on the development and revitalization of agro-healing service quality for mental health care.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.211-219
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• 2023

In this study, the importance of each design element was analyzed by surveying experts in the development of Agro-Healing Virtual Reality Therapy System. It was found that the results of experts content importance were consistent with the results of consumer preferences in previous studies, such as psychological and emotional stability as the main effect the importance of sight and hearing, a relatively short time of 30 minutes or less, a low price of 5,000 won or less, technical factors that can satisfy the five senses, and various contents. When the spatial elements of the Agro-Healing Virtual Reality Therapy System were categorized into three major categories: elements and equipment, lines and paths, and sites and spaces, 'flowers', 'playgrounds', 'paths', 'sidewalks', 'rest areas' and 'gardens' were found to be highly important. Among the components of Agro-Healing Virtual Reality Therapy System, the usability was divided into eight major categories, including searchability, attractiveness, cognition, error handling, control, consistency, convenience, and feedback, and the importance was analyzed for each component. The significance of this study is that it suggests the design direction of virtual healing farm systems and provides effective information that can be used in the development of related systems in the future.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2019

This study was designed to examine agro-healing services and programs provided and operated by farms in Korea. The results of the analysis of the agro-healing programs and operation of farms were as follows. The purpose of the operation of farms was to raise productivity by managing farms in a cooperative way through agricultural production, education and healing, and to raise income by processing and selling agricultural products. It was difficult to access farms by public transport and thus visitors had to use their own cars. The size of farms varied. The main resources utilized in the surveyed programs were plants, rural environments and landscapes, and agricultural products. The programs were conducted using resources that were commonly found in rural areas. Facilities on each farm were equipped with facilities (indoor and outdoor learning place, gardens, vegetable gardens, orchards, etc.) and convenience facilities (parking lots, drinking fountains, kiosks, etc.) to support program operation. However, facilities for the handicapped and accommodation facilities were insufficient. The programs operated on each farm utilized agricultural resources, farm produce, and rural resources and were classified into activities such as making, feeling, and growing. The average number of people who operated the family-centered program was 2-3, having qualifications such as welfare horticultural therapists, forest interpreters, experience instructors, and social workers. In addition, they had expertise in medicinal food, dietary life, and social welfare, and they also had essential expertise required to operate programs.