Evaluating nature-based versus generic physical activity programs to address chronic health conditions: Lessons from an Oregon (USA) pilot study

Abstract

Evidence appears to be building that direct exposure to natural landscapes characterized by significant green cover, such as forests, can help to reduce chronic health conditions such as obesity, stress, hypertension, chronic cardiovascular conditions, depression, anxiety, cancer, and diabetes. One way to encourage greater exposure to nature may be through the use of nature prescriptions, whereby clinicians formally recommend (or prescribe) time in nature to their patients. Based on self-reported data, we describe the implementation and lessons learned from a pilot field experiment examining the clinical use of nature-based versus conventional exercise recommendations in rural Oregon. We discuss the potential benefits of such recommendations, as well as identify several challenges and opportunities associated with field experiments seeking to evaluate whether nature prescriptions, offered as one part of patients’ overall treatment plans, meaningfully improve human health outcomes in clinical settings. We conclude with several recommendations for practitioners and researchers interested in implementing and evaluating nature-based exercise programs to improve public health.

Citation

Bluffstone, Randall; Chan, Ma; Cox, Cort; Davis, Melinda M.; Dickinson, Caitlin; Dissanayake, Sahan T.M.; Kline, Jeffrey D.; Carrera Lopez, Citlactli; Ojha, Himani; Stokes, Sterling; Thosar, Saurabh S.; Vedantam, Srilakshmi. 2025. Evaluating nature-based versus generic physical activity programs to address chronic health conditions: Lessons from an Oregon (USA) pilot study. Forests. 16(5): 752. https://doi.org/10.3390/f16050752.