• Perspectives in Nursing Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2014

Purpose: In recent years, many attempts have been made to examine the effects of forest therapy on health and to develop related policies. This study aimed to explore the current status of health promotion programs using forests provided by public health centers and to identify program diffusion strategies employed within different communities. Methods: For this descriptive study, we analyzed the 5th regional public health care program plans and explored the perceptions of health care workers attached with the programs using open-ended questionnaires and a focus group interview. Results: This study confirmed the necessity for health promotion programs using forests, as well as administrative and educational demands for such programs. The target population of the programs ranged from individuals with specific diseases to healthy local residents. In addition, the programs covered a wide range of topics, including disease management and health promotion strategies. However, the number of well-structured regional specialized programs remained limited. Collaboration among local governments, schools, and public health centers was found to be ineffective. Conclusion: To further disseminate health promotion programs using forests, the central government will need to develop well-structured programs, provide funding and resources to support local governments, and focus on raising public awareness of the health benefits of forest therapy.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.118-129
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to offer the preliminary data for the development of forest therapy program. This exploratory study is about the development of forest healing program by identifying what is the forest healing program preferences of potential consumers and would be an important basis for the operation. The survey of interests and needs of 620 people on the forest therapy was analyzed. Using SPSS 21.0 program, statistical analysis, frequency analysis, T-test, One-way ANOVA, we looked at the differences in forest healing program preferences according to gender, age, occupation. Forest therapy program preference was found to vary depending on sex, age and job. First, according to gender, men preferred athletic in the forest and camping compared to women, and women showed a higher preference than men in the overall program. Second, depending on age, as compared to other age, for 20s; stress assessment & diagnosis, cooking in the forest, photo therapy in the forest, for 30s; walking in the forest, counseling, listening to lectures(stress-related or interpersonal relationships-related), communication-related lectures and vision quest, for 40s; meditation, viewing the forest, forest bathing wind bathing sun bathing, walking on barefoot in the forest, for 50s; breathing breathing exercises, yoga, mountaineering, climbing in silence, eating wild food, respectively, each of those programs were especially favored. Third, the forest healing program preference in accordance with the job is as follows. For students; stress assessment & diagnosis, cooking in the forest, etc., for teachers; walking in the forest, mountaineering, reading in the forest, viewing the forest, forest bathing wind bathing sun bathing, camping etc., for housewives; yoga, listening to the sound of water flowing, drinking herbal tea, eating wild food, for specialist researcher; breathing breathing exercises, climbing in silence, meditation, sleeping in the forest, respectively, each of those programs were especially favored. We expect the results of this study to be utilized as basic data for the development of forest therapy program targeting on adults.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.63-70
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• 2015

Objectives The purpose of this study is to understand the research trend of reports on forest therapy so far and analyze the Korean medicine therapy being applied in forest therapy programs. Methods We ran a keyword search on domestic databases with the following keyword 'forest therapy, forest healing, forest treatment, recreational forest, forest bath, forest experience'. The search took place in December 2014 and there was no limit to search time. A total of 334 forest therapy articles have been selected. Results The number of research on forest therapy continued to rise from 1985, with 334 articles being published from 84 journals. When those 188 articles were sorted by their contents and methods, except 146 articles of survey on simple satisfaction, recognition and visting, 94 were clinical studies, 79 were literature studies, 15 were experimental studies. Of the 94 clinical researches, there were 52 CCTs (Controled Clinical Trials), 39 ODs (efficacy studies with either a controlled or an Other than controlled Design) and 3 RCTs (Randomized Clinical Trials). Among the clinical researches, there were a total of 21 studies that used Korean Medicine programs, and meditation was the most popular, being used in 18 studies. Herbal food and tea therapy and Qigong were used in 3 studies each, and Korean medicine music programs were used in 2 studies. Conclusions A systematic and standardized Korean medicine forest therapy program must be developed, and based on the program, more research treating diseases should be conducted.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.81-90
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• 2021

PURPOSE: Aging causes a decrease in muscle mass and a change in posture, which reduces motor function and makes it difficult to perform daily activities independently. As these factors are closely related to the deterioration of the quality of life, it is very important to prevent and manage negative changes in the musculoskeletal system. Forest healing is a nature therapy course that maintains and promotes health using various environmental factors in a forest. The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of the forest healing anti-aging programs on the physical health of the elderly. METHODS: Ten elderly people participated in this study, as part of a forest healing anti-aging program for two days. Functional fitness, muscle strength, gait function, and balance were evaluated before and after the program. RESULTS: The number of arm curls, chair stands, and steps in a 2-min walk significantly increased (p < .05). 8-feet up & go time was significantly decreased (p < .05). Biceps brachii, quadriceps femoris, and calf muscle strength were significantly increased (p < .05). Gait velocity and cadence were significantly increased (p < .05). Step length, stride length, step time, swing time, stance time, and cycle time were significantly decreased (p < .05). Reaching distance in the lateral directions was significantly increased (p < .05). CONCLUSION: The forest healing anti-aging program improves the physical health of the elderly.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.485-498
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• 2015

The need for forest therapy programs has been increasing. For more effective forest healing, it is necessary to identify the characteristics of participants and develop and operate more targeted and differentiated forest therapy programs accordingly. In this study, the relationships between MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) personality types and the relationship between the temperaments of MBTI and the preference for the forest therapy programs were analyzed respectively in pursuit of the basic data required for the effective development and operation of forest healing on the basis of individual characteristics. The survey on the forest therapy program and MBTI personality tests were conducted for 245 normal adults. Using the SPSS 21.0 program analysis, data were analyzed by Analysis of variance (ANOVA) to obtain the difference of preference on the forest therapy program according to the personality type. The Extraversion(E)-Introversion(I) types showed differences in technique-based breathing exercises, walking in the forest(wearing shoes), laughter therapy in the forest, viewing the forest, forest bathing, wind bathing and sun bathing. And the Sensing(S)-iNtuition (N) types had marked differences in listening to the sound of water flowing, drinking herbal tea and sleeping in the forest. The Thinking (T) -Feeling (F) types marked differences in soaking hands and feet in water and sleeping in the forest. The Judging (J)-Perceiving (P) types had differences in vision quest and viewing the forest, respectively, in statistics. Depending on the temperament of the character, there were statistically significant differences in preferences such as drinking herbal tea, eating natural food, sleeping in the forest, viewing the forest and listening to the forest commentary. The results of this study are expected to be used as a basis for forest healing program development and operation.

• 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 Environmental Science International
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.51-59
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• 2022

This study investigated the effects of participation in a forest therapy program on ego-resiliency and interpersonal relationships to strengthen the independent capabilities of children requiring protection. The participants were divided into two groups: the experimental group (n=87; age, 16.40±1.90 years) and control group (n=90; age, 16.97±1.39 years). The study was conducted from July to August 2020. The experimental group participated in a forest therapy program operated by the National Center for Forest Therapy, Yeongju, for 2 nights and 3 days, whereas the control group lived routine life. The participants' ego-resiliency and interpersonal relationships were tested at the beginning and end of the forest therapy program. In the experimental group, ego-resiliency was improved and interpersonal relationships were significantly altered. Therefore, forest therapy programs may serve as effective interventions that can positively affect the social adaptation and growth of protected children into healthy adults.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.146-157
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• 2019

This study, as a pilot study to implement and extend the marine healing which has been rapidly extending oversea areas into the domestic market, has collected seven major marine healing resources such as ocean water, sand, salt, mud, seaweeds, forest, and weather targeting selected four pilot municipalities and established a GIS DB. Furthermore, web GIS based marine healing portal has been established to support the easier utilization of the GIS DB and various marine healing related contents, thereby facilitating expansion of related industry. The portal includes marine thematic maps as well as research papers, related therapy manuals, and various activities and programs of the pilot municipalities. It is expected that the portal would contribute to the expansion of the domestic marine healing industry significantly through the pilot operation of the portal, not to mention of the needs of subsequent studies for expansion of the marine GIS DB and securing more various contents.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.565-574
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• 2018

Previous studies have shown that forest therapy program can help prevent dementia. However, few studies have focused on low-income elderly people living alone. The current study examined the meanings that the elderly living alone receiving medical care assigned to the urban forest therapy program, as a way to understand the pathways that nature-based intervention affect preventing dementia. Twenty-one participants were recruited and they participated in a five-week urban forest therapy program. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 21 participants who experienced the urban forest therapy program, and analyzed qualitative data using thematic analysis. Results showed that all themes identified were related to connectedness with oneself, neighbors and nature. Awarenesses of change were consisted of positive and negative themes. The themes of positive awareness were improvements of mental and emotional condition, feelings of isolation and loneliness, and health-related lifestyle. The negative themes were terminations of short-term programs and inconvenient access to the urban forest. Based on these data, we suggest an urban green welfare framework for future research and interventions for preventing dementia of underprivileged elderly group.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.557-564
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• 2018

Along with the aging society, the prevalence of dementia is also increasing. Dementia causes short-term memory loss as well as difficulties of performing daily activities and gradually causes suffering of the patients and their family. In spite of various programs for prevention of dementia of older people are being implemented, there is a lack of developing natural-based program for physical and mental health promotion. Therefore, it is necessary to develop programs for the elderly living alone who are more vulnerable to dementia because of their social and economic isolation. The purpose of this study was to develop a natural-based program and investigate the effects of 10 weeks forest therapy program for dementia prevention to improve the psychological and physical health of the elderly living alone. The experimental subjects were 30 elderly (aged 65 or older) and 31 elderly participated in control group. The Stress response, depressive symptoms, weight, body mass index (BMI), fat mass and muscle mass were measured for pre and post test. The results showed that the experimental group showed subjective stress relief (t=5.249, p=.000), improvement in symptoms of depression (t=4.152, p=.000), and decreases in weight (t=2.686, p=.012), BMI (t=2.629, p=.014) and fat mass (t=2.918, p=.007) after the forest therapy program. The experimental group showed lower stress reactions(t=-7.185, p=.000) and less depressive symptoms (t=-5.303, p=.000) than control group after participating the program. These results suggest that periodic forest exposure can help having less stressful and depressive status than non-forest exposure and the forest therapy program can reduce participants' psychological and physical risk factors of dementia.