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LonelinessNCT04913363

The Emotional, Physical and Cognitive Benefits of Purposeful Green Space Activities on Seniors

A study testing Green space in people with Loneliness and Social Isolation, run by University of Virginia at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This project explores if various nature based activities can lead to acute improvements in emotional, physical and cognitive health outcomes and encouraging senior center (JABA) service users to return to a safe environment. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 65 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Loneliness, Social Isolation, Mood
What is being tested?
Green space
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
24 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
17 Jun 2021to 17 Nov 2022
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 65 years and older
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Over 65 years
  • A JABA center user
  • Can walk unassisted for 20 minutes
  • Willing to comply with COVID-19 regulations

Who cannot join

  • Under 65 years
  • Never used a JABA center
  • unable to walk unassisted for 20 minutes.
  • Unwilling to comply with COVID-19 regulations

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • University of Virginia

    Charlottesville, Virginia, 22903

Other trials in United States

About this study

This project explores if various nature based activities can lead to acute improvements in emotional, physical and cognitive health outcomes and encouraging senior center (JABA) service users to return to a safe environment. The activities the investigators will use include walking in nature, engaging in physical planting and cerebral, citizen science based activities.

Read the detailed description

This study builds on the previous experimental work and expands it to focus on older adults in the Charlottesville area. The study objective is to understand the impact of different types of activities in green settings on physical and mental health outcomes in older adults at JABA centers using a repeated measures, crossover design in 20 participants.

There are three activity sessions in this project; walking (contemplative), planting (physical) and citizen science (cerebral). The walking condition will be a short green walk (10-15 minutes). The planting session will be run by JABA staff and a Master Gardener and will allow participants an opportunity to be outdoors and plant and tend to plants. The citizen science session will be run by JABA staff and a consultant and will rely less on physical exertion but rather focus on understanding green space at a more academic level. All sessions will be outdoors and will follow COVID-19 guidelines in place at the time of testing.

Outcome Measures The investigators will use various measures to assess the impact of green activity on emotional, physical and cognitive health outcomes, including;

  • Loneliness; measured by the UCLA Loneliness Scale, a 3-item scale that captures feelings of loneliness.
  • Belonging; measured by the General Belonging Scale (GBS), a 12-item scale capturing social acceptance/inclusion and social rejection/exclusion.
  • Acute Mood; pre and post measures of mood will be taken using the UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist (MACL), an acute measure of hedonic tone, stress and arousal.
  • Restoration; Psychological restorative qualities of the setting measured by the Perceived Restorativeness Scale, a three point scale determining the restorative quality of activity spaces.
  • Physical Activity_OMNIT; In addition to the arousal measure of the MACL, the investigators used the 11 point scale (from 0 to 10) of the OMNIT Perceived Exertion scale (tiredness), to understand how physically tired the activities made them.
  • Physical Activity_OMNIH; In addition to the arousal measure of the MACL, the investigators used the 11 point scale (from 0 to 10) of the OMNIH Perceived Exertion scale (exertion), to understand how much perceived physical effort participants put in.
  • Accelerometer; the investigators will use accelerometers to measure participant movement throughout the activities to correlate with physical activity measures.

All outcome measures will be scored and subsequently analysed using a one-way ANOVA to determine if experimental condition leads to any statistically significant difference between outcome scores. The investigators will look for correlations between outcome measures in order to establish relationships between variables.

The investigators will also send a short survey to a number of JABA service users (n=30) to understand mood, wellbeing and current barriers to returning to their local JABA center. This survey will include the UCLA Loneliness Scale, the GBS, mood and physical activity measures included above, as well as broader questions assessing their experience of the lockdown and their needs for safe return to the center.

Participants will be sent consent information in advance and have an opportunity to talk to the research time prior to attending their first session. For all conditions, participants would meet at a pre-determined location near their local JABA center and taken to the activity site directly. Participants will complete the short surveys, listed above, both pre and post their activity. All activities will last around 20 minutes. Participants will return for two consecutive weeks to undertake the alternative activities to which they originally completed.

Activities Participants will undertake three activities, on separate days, throughout this project.

  1. Walking; this contemplative activity will see users taken to a local green space area near their center and encouraged to walk around the space. It is anticipated that walks will last around 15-20 minutes.
  2. Planting; this physical activity will see users, lead by a local Master Gardener, engage with planting vegetables/fruit in raised beds. Not only will this allow users a chance to engage physically with nature, but it is anticipated that the grown produce will be used for center users.
  3. Citizen Science; this cerebral activity sees users engage with local green spaces, under the instruction of a citizen scientist, to learn about the intricacies of the space. This may include lichen counts (or similar) where the main outcome is learning based.
Being tested
Green space
Medical subject headings
Social Isolation, Motor Activity, Mobility Limitation

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Green spaceOther

    Green space in which activities take place

Study groups in NCT04913363
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
WalkingExperimentalThis contemplative activity will see users taken to a local green space area near their center and encouraged to walk around the space. It is anticipated walks will last around 15-20 minutes.
Receives: Other: Green space
Citizen ScienceExperimentalThis cerebral activity sees users engage with local green spaces, under the instruction of a citizen scientist, to learn about the intricacies of the space. This may include lichen counts (or similar) where the main outcome is learning based.
Receives: Other: Green space
PlantingExperimentalThis physical activity will see users, lead by a local Master Gardener, engage with planting vegetables/fruit in raised beds. Not only will this allow users a chance to engage physically with nature, but it is anticipated that the grown produce will be used for center users.
Receives: Other: Green space

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Loneliness (Time 1)

    Loneliness was measured by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale, a 3-item scale that captures feelings of loneliness. Scores range from 3 to 9 with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived loneliness

    Measured: Pre activity

  2. Loneliness (Time 2)

    Loneliness was measured by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale, a 3-item scale that captures feelings of loneliness. Scores range from 3 to 9 with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived loneliness

    Measured: Post activity (20 minutes after pre-activity measure)

  3. Social Isolation (Time 1)

    Social Isolation was measured by the General Belonging Scale (GBS), a 12-item scale capturing social acceptance/inclusion and social rejection/exclusion. Scores will range from 12 to 84, with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived belonging.

    Measured: Pre activity

  4. Social Isolation (Time 2)

    Social Isolation was measured by the General Belonging Scale (GBS), a 12-item scale capturing social acceptance/inclusion and social rejection/exclusion. Scores will range from 12 to 84, with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived belonging.

    Measured: Post activity (20 minutes after pre-activity measure)

  5. Mood_hedonic Tone (Time 1)

    Pre measures of mood (hedonic tone) was taken using the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST) Mood Adjective Checklist (MACL), an average measure of hedonic tone. The subscale will range from 4 to 16, with higher scores indicating higher valence.

    Measured: Pre activity

  6. Mood_hedonic Tone (Time 2)

    Post measures of (hedonic tone) was taken using the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST) Mood Adjective Checklist (MACL), an average measure of hedonic tone. The subscale will range from 4 to 16, with higher scores indicating higher valence.

    Measured: Post activity (20 minutes after pre-activity measure)

  7. Well Aging_ Using Perceived Restorativeness Scale

    Psychological restorative qualities of the setting was measured by the Perceived Restorativeness Scale, a three point scale determining the restorative quality of activity spaces. Scores range from 4 to 28, with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived restoration.

    Measured: Post activity (20 minutes after pre-activity measure). This measure is a post-condition measure only that measures restoration as a result of the condition. This cannot be done before exposure to the condition.

  8. Physical Activity_OMNIT

    In addition to the arousal measure of the MACL, the investigators used the 11 point scale (from 0 to 10) of the OMNIT Perceived Exertion scale (tiredness), to understand how physically tired the activities made them. Lower scores indicate the tasks are easy; higher scores indicate the tasks are hard.

    Measured: Post activity (20 minutes after pre-activity measure). OMNIT is administered post-activity ONLY.

  9. Physical Activity_OMNIH

    In addition to the arousal measure of the MACL, the investigators used the 11 point scale (from 0 to 10) of the OMNIH Perceived Exertion scale (exertion), to understand how much perceived physical effort participants put in. Lower scores indicate the tasks are easy; higher scores indicate the tasks are hard.

    Measured: Post activity (20 minutes after pre-activity measure). OMNIH is administered post-activity ONLY.

  10. Mood_Stress (Time 1)

    Pre measures of mood (stress) was taken using the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST) Mood Adjective Checklist (MACL), an average measure of stress. The subscale will range from 4 to 16, with higher scores indicating higher stress.

    Measured: Pre activity

  11. Mood_Stress (Time 2)

    Post measures of mood (stress) was taken using the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST) Mood Adjective Checklist (MACL), an average measure of stress. The subscale will range from 4 to 16, with higher scores indicating higher stress.

    Measured: Post activity (20 minutes after pre-activity measure)

  12. Mood_arousal (Time 1)

    Pre measures of mood (arousal) was taken using the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST) Mood Adjective Checklist (MACL), an average measure of arousal. The subscale will range from 4 to 16, with higher scores indicating higher arousal.

    Measured: Pre activity

  13. Mood_arousal (Time 2)

    Post measures of mood (arousal) was taken using the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology (UWIST) Mood Adjective Checklist (MACL), an average measure of arousal. The subscale will range from 4 to 16, with higher scores indicating higher arousal.

    Measured: Post activity (20 minutes after pre-activity measure)

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. Mobility Limitation

    Mobility Limitation was determined using accelerometers to measure participant movement throughout the activities to correlate with physical activity measures.

    Measured: Throughout activity (measure taken for 20 minutes)

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted4 Jun 2021
  2. Study start17 Jun 2021
  3. Primary completion17 Nov 2022
  4. Study completion17 Nov 2022

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Non-randomised
Intervention model
Single group
Model description
The study was designed in a single group, where participants will be complete the interventions (green space activities) in this order: Citizen Science, Walking, Planting. However, participants may or may not show up on the day of an activity. i.e. participants may skip one or more interventions, even though that was not the intent of the study design.
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
24 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04913363
Sponsor's protocol ID
HSR210100
Other IDs
UL1TR003015
Status last verified
Oct 2024
First submitted
10 May 2021
Last updated
10 Oct 2024
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Green space in people with Loneliness and Social Isolation, run by University of Virginia at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 10 Oct 2024. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 10 Oct 2024). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Loneliness (Time 1) (time frame: Pre activity). The study lists 13 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 10 Oct 2024.

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