• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.693-705
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• 2021

Background and objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of forest therapy programs on reducing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and improving mood states in fire officers. Methods: To determine PTSD, depression, and mood states before and after the forest therapy program, the survey results of 185 fire officers were analyzed. Frequency analysis was conducted to identify the demographic characteristics of the participants, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test to analyze the differences among group. Results: As a result of a comparative analysis of PTSD before and after the program, there was a significant decrease in PTSD from 10.65 ± 12.00 to 5.64 ± 8.29 after the program. Depression also showed a statistically significant difference from 3.21 ± 4.00 to 2.21 ± 3.47 after the program. As a result of comparatively analyzing mood states before and after the program, there was an increase in positive factors and a decrease in negative factors. Total mood disturbance (TMD) also showed a statistically significant decrease from 5.78 ± 17.37 to -7.38 ± 10.35 after the program. Conclusion: This study has significance in verifying that forest therapy programs can bring psychological changes to fire officers, and these results can be used as a basis for stress management and relief of fire officers.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.72-84
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to provide a reference for the development of forest therapy programs for subfertile women. This exploratory study identifies the emotional characteristics of subfertile women and the demands for forest therapy according to the emotional characteristics and provides basic data for the development and operation of forest therapy programs. This study surveyed 200 subfertile women who visited a subfertility hospital in Seoul on 33 items of subfertile women's emotional characteristics and requirements of forest therapy programs. We conducted the frequency analysis, cross-analysis, and one-way ANOVA to determine the correlation and importance between the emotional characteristics of subfertile women and the demands for forest therapy programs using the SPSS 21.0 program. Emotional traits of subfertile women included pressure on pregnancy, anxiety/fear, depression, hopelessness, helplessness, loneliness, sadness, shame/guilt, impatience/frustration, and anger/hypersensitivity. Of these traits, pressure on pregnancy, depression, hopelessness, helplessness, loneliness, sadness, anger/hypersensitivity, and anxiety/fear were particularly high among subfertile women. The demands for forest therapy programs also differed according to the emotional characteristics of subfertile women. There was a significant difference in the operation mode of the subfertile couple's forest therapy program according to the pressure, shame, and guilt of pregnancy. There was a significant difference in the experience of participating in a program according to anxiety and fear and in the reason for not being able to participate in the forest therapy program according to depression, hopelessness, helplessness, loneliness, and sadness. There was a significant difference in couples participating the in the forest therapy program according to impatience and frustration. There was a significant difference in the experience of participating in the forest therapy program and the effect of self-help groups through the forest therapy program for subfertile women according to anger and hypersensitivity. We expect that the results of this study would be useful as the reference data for developing forest therapy programs for the improvement of the mental health of subfertile women.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.663-673
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to scientifically activate the forest healing program activities for the elderly. The predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD), which are indices of thermal comfort in the thermal environment, and degree of canopy closure were compared and analyzed. Based on this information, the study objective was to present the appropriate conditions for maintaining the best comfort for the elderly. Six deck road shelters, which are the most active locations in forest healing programs among the National Center for Forest Therapy, were selected as the study sites. The results indicated that in the case of the conditions of 1 clo (clothing insulation value) and 1 met (metabolic rate) at an air temperature of 19 to 21 degrees in September on the measurement date, the PMV values ranged between -1.85 and -0.98 at all sites, and PPD values ranged between 25.60% and 68.68%. On the other hand, in the case of 1.3 clo and 1.6 met conditions, the PMV values ranged between -0.08 and 0.23 for all sites and PPD values ranged between 5.40 and 6.18. As shown above, the difference in thermal environment comfort and satisfaction according to the condition of the amount of metabolism and the amount of clothing could be confirmed. In addition, an analysis of the relation between PPD and canopy closure suggested a significantly positive correlation between them, and it was found that canopy closure was a factor affecting thermal comfort. Studies on effects of forest thermal environmental comfort and canopy closure on forest healing program areas should be conducted extensively according to seasonal conditions to provide information that can be used for more effective forest healing programs.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.157-171
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics and effects of the forest therapy programs for adult patients. Methods: Six databases (PubMed, Cochrane library, CiNii, PsychoInFO, AGRICOL, EMBASE) and six domestic databases were systematically searched with language restrictions of Korean, English, and Japanese. The systematic review was based on the Preferred Reporting Items Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) flow diagram. Results: Twenty five studies met the inclusion criteria. A systematic review identified adult patients classified as 1) disease of the circulatory system, 2) mental and behavioral disorders, 3) malignant neoplasms, 4) etc. (diabetes mellitus, chronic pain). This integrative review showed a positive effect of the forest therapy program for adult patients on physiological indices such as blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability, level of stress hormone, and natural killer cells as well as social·psychological indices such as the Profile of Mood States (POMS), anxiety, depression, and quality of life. Conclusion: The results of this study could be useful key principles in developing and applying the forest therapy programs in nursing intervention. Further research should be conducted to develop the forest therapy programs suitable for each patient group and measure its effectiveness.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.225-234
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• 2023

This study verified the effect of a combined forest/thermal therapy (FT/TT) program on participants with depressive symptoms and smoking or alcohol dependence. The participants included 20 people in the experimental group and 18 people in the control group. The experimental group participated in the FT/TT program for 2 nights and 3 days at the National Center for Forest Healing, in Hoengseong (National Hoengseong Supchewon), and a charcoal kiln operated by the Gangwon Charcoal Farming Association. The control group carried out their daily life for the same period. Psychological, physiological, and biochemical tests were conducted to determine the effect of the program. The results showed that there were significant improvements in stress, anxiety, depression, sleep quality, sleep satisfaction, and IL-6 levels. However, no significant difference was found in the cortisol, serotonin and melatonin levels between the experimental and control groups. Thus, the FT/TT therapy had psychological and biochemical effects on individuals with depression and nicotine or alcohol dependency. Further studies should be conducted to verify the effect of forest healing in various conditions.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.748-757
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• 2019

This study was intended to investigate the effects of forest therapy programs using school forest on the emotional stability and positive thinking of university students. The subjects were divided into an experimental group and a controlled group, and the number of subjects in each group was 35 and 25, respectively. The forest therapy program was conducted once a week from 4 September to 12 December in 2018 for a total of 8 sessions, and each session lasted two hours (120 minutes). The subjects were examined in the emotional state and positive thinking before and after the forest therapy program. To determine the difference in emotional stability and positive thinking before and after the program, I conducted a paired t-test and analyzed the data with the SPSS 21.0 program. The results indicated that students who participated in the program showed a significant increase in the stabilize emotional state and positive thinking. This study shows that forest therapy programs using school forests have an effect on students' emotions and positive thinking. Thus, it is necessary to promote the forest therapy program as an alternative activity for the treatment and prevention of mental health of university students.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.597-606
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• 2014

The preference of general adult on the forest and forest road was surveyed and analyzed for the development of forest therapy program. This study was conducted for the purpose of providing a basis for the development of more targeted-and differentiated-forest therapy program by analyzing the preference of general adult on the forest and forest road from 19 April 2014 to 30 June 2014 through on-line survey. The sample group of 613 adults has been used in practical analysis. Using SPSS 21.0, We looked at the preference differences of the forest and forest road according to the demographic characteristics(sex, age, education level, occupation and monthly income) through descriptive statistics analysis, frequency analysis, cross tabulation analysis, multiple response analysis. The seasonal preference was spring, autumn, any season, summer, winter in order and there was a significant difference according to one's sex, age, occupation and monthly income. There was a significant difference in the configuration of forest according to one's monthly income. The favorite type of forest as a place of forest healing program was natural recreational forest, healing forest, urban forest, park, school forest in order. There was no significant difference in the favorite forest type regarding to the distance to the healing place from one's residence in all cases. There was a significant difference in the type of forest according to one's monthly income. The most favorite configuration of forest road was gentle sloped road. Once walking into the forest for the purpose of healing, the favorite forest road length was 1.5~3 km, less then 1.5 km, more than 3 km in order and there was a significant difference in preference according to one's sex, age, education level and monthly income. We believe that the healing program should be differentiated from the general form of it according to one's sex, age, education level, occupation and monthly income as a result of this investigation of preference of general adult on the forest and forest road for the development of forest therapy program. In particular, we believe that the differentiated program should be offered according to one's age. We expect this analysis to be used as a basis for the development of forest therapy program.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.963-972
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• 2016

A survey was performed to present a scheme for building a healing forest park inside a city in consideration of the fact that healing forests are located in non-urban areas because of their nature, and are therefore not conveniently accessible to urban population (n=196). As a result, among 196 respondents to the survey, 74.5% indicated that it was necessary to build an urban healing forest park. In the case of the expected usage pattern, were an urban forest park to be built, the largest proportion responded that it would be used to "walk", followed by "rest and meditation" and then "meeting/talk/date". An analysis showed that the largest proportion responded that they factor in "Accessibility" (48%), followed by "Park condition" (16.8%), and "Vegetation type" (12.2%). According to the analysis of usage preference for healing therapy, it was shown that the largest proportion preferred "Terrain therapy" (37.8%), followed by "Exercise therapy" (19.9%), and "Naturopathy" (18.9%). The factor anlaysis of usage preference regarding urban healing forest park facilities showed that the components were divided into "Operation facilities" and "Natural healing space", and the largest proportion preferred "Trails for healing", followed by "Space or forest for meditation" and "Health promotion center", and then "Facilities for a exercise therapy". In building an urban healing forest park, we think that it is effective to introduce zones and facilities in consideration of park characteristics that are centered on everyday behaviors, such as taking a walk, which differ from those of healing forests located in non-urban areas.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.557-564
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• 2018

Along with the aging society, the prevalence of dementia is also increasing. Dementia causes short-term memory loss as well as difficulties of performing daily activities and gradually causes suffering of the patients and their family. In spite of various programs for prevention of dementia of older people are being implemented, there is a lack of developing natural-based program for physical and mental health promotion. Therefore, it is necessary to develop programs for the elderly living alone who are more vulnerable to dementia because of their social and economic isolation. The purpose of this study was to develop a natural-based program and investigate the effects of 10 weeks forest therapy program for dementia prevention to improve the psychological and physical health of the elderly living alone. The experimental subjects were 30 elderly (aged 65 or older) and 31 elderly participated in control group. The Stress response, depressive symptoms, weight, body mass index (BMI), fat mass and muscle mass were measured for pre and post test. The results showed that the experimental group showed subjective stress relief (t=5.249, p=.000), improvement in symptoms of depression (t=4.152, p=.000), and decreases in weight (t=2.686, p=.012), BMI (t=2.629, p=.014) and fat mass (t=2.918, p=.007) after the forest therapy program. The experimental group showed lower stress reactions(t=-7.185, p=.000) and less depressive symptoms (t=-5.303, p=.000) than control group after participating the program. These results suggest that periodic forest exposure can help having less stressful and depressive status than non-forest exposure and the forest therapy program can reduce participants' psychological and physical risk factors of dementia.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.505-513
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• 2019

As the number of foreign workers increases in Korea, people's interest in their adaptation to this society has also increased. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a forest-healing program on foreign workers' cultural adaptation stress and psychological wellbeing. The experiment was conducted in a recreation forest located in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon-do. The subjects who participated in this study included 40 foreign workers (16 males, 24 females). The experiment was conducted for three days and two nights from June 26 to 28, 2019. The forest healing program was composed of activities that can enhance immunity and restore physical and mental health by utilizing various healing environmental factors such as landscapes, sunlight, anion and oxygen in forest. The independent sample t-test was conducted to examine changes in cultural adaptation stress and psychological well-being before and after the program. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 program. As a result, cultural adaptation stress was statistically significantly reduced in sub-factors including discrimination experience, language conflict and legal status. Psychological wellbeing improved in all the surveyed sub-factors such as self-confidence, ego, immersion, and joy. The results of this study are expected to be used as basic data for reducing the stress foreign workers experience from cultural adaptation and restoring their psychological wellbeing in the future.