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Healing Nature: The Psychological, Social, and Spiritual Effects of Nature in the Hospice Care Environment (WAUF-00-001)

Grant Number
WAUF-00-001

This project aimed at showing the positive relationship between nature and human health and healing possibilities.

Work by Roger Ulrich, Sam Bass Warner, Clare Copper Marcus and others in the field of environmental psychology suggests a positive relationship between the experience of the natural landscape and human health and healing. There is surprisingly little actual research on the effects of nature and healing gardens on those they are intended to serve. While it appears to have been clearly demonstrated that nature can contribute to healing, what remains unexplored is how best to design settings for human contact with nature for healing purposes. What is the significance of the natural landscape, its quality, its forms, and organization? Can landscaped places improve the hospital experience, i.e.: visits with family members are more comfortable in naturalized places? What are the spiritual connections to nature in the healing process and can the healing effects of therapeutic gardens be quantified? We believe the landscape can, and often does, play a significant therapeutic role in the lives of those dealing with terminal or serious illnesses. Evidence has shown that exposure to nature can reduce stress (Kaplan, Kaplan and Ryan, 1998) and other studies suggest that garden "sanctuaries" for terminally ill patients offer supportive environments, which help to alleviate some of the anxiety associated with the dying process (Marcus and Barnes 1995).

Objectives:

This study will explore how the design of and/or preservation of natural places can enhance the quality of life and the process of dying for those with, and those caring for persons diagnosed with, terminal illnesses. The study will specifically investigate how these environments accommodate the emotional, physical, social and spiritual needs of the users, and assist the survivors in the grieving process. This study will examine these impacts on three user groups, (1) the residents, (2) the staff (administrators and care providers) and (3) the survivors (family, partners and loved ones).

Contact
Winterbottom, Daniel
nina@u.washington.edu
(206) 616-1876
Organization
University of Washington
Dept. of Landscape Architecture
Box 355734
Seattle, WA 98195-5734
Total Project Cost
$ 274,951
=
Federal Share
$ 110,297
+
Grantee Share
$ 164,654
Year of Award
2000
Year of Expiration
2004
FS Manager
Barbara Hollenbeck
USDA Forest Service
P.O. Box 3623
Portland, OR 97208-3623
(503) 808-2351
Grant Categories
Research & Technology Development , None
Sub-Topics
Health (human)
State(s)/Region(s)
Washington
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