A Long-Term Follow-Up of the Efficacy of Nature-Based Therapy for Adults Suffering from Stress-Related Illnesses on Levels of Healthcare Consumption and Sick-Leave Absence: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Sus Sola Corazon, Patrik Karlsson Nyed, Ulrik Sidenius, Dorthe Varning Poulsen and Ulrika Karlsson Stigsdotter
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Sus Sola Corazon: Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
Patrik Karlsson Nyed: Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
Ulrik Sidenius: Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
Dorthe Varning Poulsen: Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
Ulrika Karlsson Stigsdotter: Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Stress-related illnesses are a growing health problem in the Western world; which also has economic significance for society. As a consequence; there is a growing demand for effective treatments. The study investigates the long-term efficacy of the Nacadia ® nature-based therapy (NNBT) by comparing it to the efficacy of a validated cognitive behavioral therapy, called STreSS. The study is designed as a randomized controlled trial in which 84 participants are randomly allocated between the treatments. Long-term efficacy is investigated through data extracts from the national database of Statistics Denmark on the sick leave and the health-care consumption. The results show that both the NNBT and the STreSS lead to a significant decrease in number of contacts with a general practitioner in the period from twelve months prior to treatment to twelve months after treatment; and, a significant decrease in long-term sick leave from the month prior to treatment to twelve months after treatment. The positive long-term effects provide validation for the NNBT as an efficient treatment of stress-related illnesses.

Keywords: stress-related illnesses; nature-based interventions; RCT; register data; pre-post study; health care utilization; therapy garden; CBT (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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