Toubøl Annemarie G, Clemmensen Trine Holt, Busted Laila M
Health Sciences Research Center, UCL University College, Denmark.
Research nurse at the Research Unit in Neurology, Physiotherapy, and Occupational Therapy at the Regional Hospital Gødstrup, Region Midt, Denmark.
Dementia (London). 2025 Jul;24(5):835-849. doi: 10.1177/14713012241297211. Epub 2024 Oct 31.
This study aims to explore the meaning of participating in nature-based activities as seen from the perspective of people living with dementia. Being in a natural environment in contrast to a constructed environment has not previously been investigated, even though several studies have shown that nature-based activities may impact people's well-being, feelings of happiness, and a feeling of maintaining selfhood. A qualitative design was applied in this study, using walking-interviews to explore the meaning of participating in nature-based activities. Interviews have been conducted with 15 people with mild to moderate dementia in three municipalities. The analytical process using reflexive thematic analysis resulted in an overall theme that participation in nature-based activity nourishes the person by creating a feeling of having value as a person. Further, three subthemes were identified: Oasis for being, linking to the past, present, and future, and feeling capable. The findings of this study indicate that sensory stimulation when being in nature promotes embodied narratives and experiences, which contributes to the feeling of connecting to oneself, and to feeling valuable as a capable human being. This provides an important implication for practice that accessible nature-based activities may provide an overlooked opportunity to support self-identity for people living with dementia. However, it is time for a cultural and discursive shift in nature-based activities, where a delicate balance ensures that people living with dementia can derive inherent value from simply being in nature.
本研究旨在从痴呆症患者的角度探索参与基于自然的活动的意义。尽管多项研究表明基于自然的活动可能会影响人们的幸福感、快乐感和保持自我的感觉，但与人工环境相比，处于自然环境中的情况此前尚未得到研究。本研究采用定性设计，通过步行访谈来探索参与基于自然的活动的意义。在三个城市对15名轻度至中度痴呆症患者进行了访谈。使用反思性主题分析的分析过程得出了一个总体主题，即参与基于自然的活动通过创造一种作为人的价值感来滋养个体。此外，还确定了三个子主题：存在的绿洲、与过去、现在和未来的联系以及感觉有能力。本研究的结果表明，身处自然中的感官刺激促进了身体叙事和体验，这有助于产生与自己建立联系的感觉，以及作为一个有能力的人而感到有价值的感觉。这为实践提供了一个重要启示，即可及的基于自然的活动可能为支持痴呆症患者的自我认同提供一个被忽视的机会。然而，现在是基于自然的活动在文化和话语上进行转变的时候了，要在其中保持微妙的平衡，以确保痴呆症患者能够从仅仅身处自然中获得内在价值。
