Healing Nature: The Psychological, Social, and Spiritual Effects of Nature in the Hospice Care Environment (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).

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).

Attachments

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