The Effect of a Contemplative Nature-based Intervention on Spiritual Well-being

Healthy Clinical Trial

Official title:

The Effect of a Contemplative Nature-based Intervention on Spiritual Well-being: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Not yet recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT06365736
• Other study ID #: 240310
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: May 10, 2024
• Est. completion date: September 4, 2024

Study information

• Verified date: April 2024
• Source: University of Twente
• Contact: Xingjian Ruan, MSc
• Phone: +31659351115
• Email: x.ruan[@]utwente.nl
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The goal of this randomized control trial is to test if contemplating in nature could benefit spiritual well-being in general adults. The main question it aims to answer is:

Does a 2-week contemplative nature intervention improve spiritual well-being?

Researchers will compare intervention conditions to active control (walking in nature) and passive control (waitlist) conditions to see if contemplating in nature works to improve spirituality.

Participants in the intervention condition will walk for 10 minutes and then choose a nice spot to sit for 10 minutes. During these minutes they will be asked to be silently present and observe trees, plants, flowers, or other aspects of nature and contemplate their connectedness to nature and their own awareness. Then walk back 10 minutes.

Participants in the active control condition will walk for 30 minutes without further instruction.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Enrollment: 200
• Est. completion date: September 4, 2024
• Est. primary completion date: September 4, 2024
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• is 18 years or older;

• has access to a nearby natural environment for walking and sitting activities such as a forest, park, or walking area;

• possesses the physical ability to walk for half an hour;

• has access to a computer or tablet with a stable internet connection and an email address;

• is willing to commit half an hour to engage in nature walks 10 times over 14 days.

Exclusion Criteria:

• NA.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Healthy

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Contemplating in nature
Participants will spend 30 minutes in nature per day for 10 times over 14 days. Each time, participants will walk for 10 minutes and then choose a nice spot to sit for 10 minutes. During these minutes they will be asked to be silently present and observe trees, plants, flowers or other aspects of nature and contemplate their connectedness to nature and their own awareness. Then walk back 10 minutes.
• Walking in nature
Participants will be asked to walk for 30 minutes in nature per day for 10 times over 14 days without further instruction.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Netherlands	University of Twente	Enschede	Overijssel

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Twente

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Netherlands, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Client satisfaction of intervention condition assessed by Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8)	A Likert scale scored from 1 (low satisfaction) to 4 (high satisfaction). Higher score means higher satisfaction with the intervention.	From post-intervention to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Other	Client satisfaction of active control condition assessed by Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8)	A Likert scale scored from 1 (low satisfaction) to 4 (high satisfaction). Higher score means higher satisfaction with the intervention.	From post-intervention to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Other	Client satisfaction of passive control condition assessed by Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8)	A Likert scale scored from 1 (low satisfaction) to 4 (high satisfaction). Higher score means higher satisfaction with the intervention.	From post-intervention to longer term follow-up at 3 months.
Other	Nature connectedness assessed by Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS)	Items are rated on a 5-point scale with endpoints 1 (strongly disagree) and 5 (strongly agree). Higher score means higher sense of oneness with the natural world.	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Other	Nature connectedness assessed by Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS)	Items are rated on a 5-point scale with endpoints 1 (strongly disagree) and 5 (strongly agree). Higher score means higher sense of oneness with the natural world.	Change from baseline to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Other	Nature connectedness assessed by Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS)	Items are rated on a 5-point scale with endpoints 1 (strongly disagree) and 5 (strongly agree). Higher score means higher sense of oneness with the natural world.	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.
Other	Nature connectedness assessed by the single item Inclusion of Nature with Self scale (INS)	Participants were asked to select one of seven different sets of overlapping circles labeled ''self'' and ''nature.'' Scores ranged from 1 (where the circles touched but did not overlap) to 7 (where the two circles entirely overlapped).	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Other	Nature connectedness assessed by the single item Inclusion of Nature with Self scale (INS)	Participants were asked to select one of seven different sets of overlapping circles labeled ''self'' and ''nature.'' Scores ranged from 1 (where the circles touched but did not overlap) to 7 (where the two circles entirely overlapped).	Change from baseline to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Other	Nature connectedness assessed by the single item Inclusion of Nature with Self scale (INS)	Participants were asked to select one of seven different sets of overlapping circles labeled ''self'' and ''nature.'' Scores ranged from 1 (where the circles touched but did not overlap) to 7 (where the two circles entirely overlapped).	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.
Other	Well-being assessed by Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF)	A 6-point Likert scale scored from "never" to "every day". Higher score means higher level of well-being.	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Other	Well-being assessed by Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF)	A 6-point Likert scale scored from "never" to "every day". Higher score means higher level of well-being.	Change from baseline to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Other	Well-being assessed by Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF)	A 6-point Likert scale scored from "never" to "every day". Higher score means higher level of well-being.	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.
Other	Psychological well-being assessed by Brief INSPIRE-O	A 5-point Likert scale scored from 0 (not at all) to 4 (a lot). Higher score means higher psychological well-being.	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Other	Psychological well-being assessed by Brief INSPIRE-O	A 5-point Likert scale scored from 0 (not at all) to 4 (a lot). Higher score means higher psychological well-being.	Change from baseline to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Other	Psychological well-being assessed by Brief INSPIRE-O	A 5-point Likert scale scored from 0 (not at all) to 4 (a lot). Higher score means higher psychological well-being.	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.
Other	Stress assessed by Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)	A 5-point Likert scale scored from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). Higher score means higher level of perceived stress.	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Other	Stress assessed by Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)	A 5-point Likert scale scored from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). Higher score means higher level of perceived stress.	Change from baseline to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Other	Stress assessed by Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)	A 5-point Likert scale scored from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). Higher score means higher level of perceived stress.	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.
Primary	Spiritual well-being assessed by Spiritual Attitude and Involvement List Short Form (SAIL-SF)	On a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 6 (to a very high degree), respondents rate in how far they think specific statements about spiritual well-being apply to themselves. Higher scores indicate higher scores of spiritual well-being.	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Primary	Spiritual well-being assessed by Spiritual Attitude and Involvement List Short Form (SAIL-SF)	On a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 6 (to a very high degree), respondents rate in how far they think specific statements about spiritual well-being apply to themselves. Higher scores indicate higher scores of spiritual well-being.	Change from Baseline to Short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Primary	Spiritual well-being assessed by Spiritual Attitude and Involvement List Short Form (SAIL-SF)	On a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 6 (to a very high degree), respondents rate in how far they think specific statements about spiritual well-being apply to themselves. Higher scores indicate higher scores of spiritual well-being.	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.
Primary	Spiritual well-being assessed by Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES)	The non-theistic items from DSES will be used. Ranging from 1 (multiple times a day) to 6 (never). The item responses were reverse coded prior to analysis so that larger values would reflect a higher level of daily spiritual experiences.	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Primary	Spiritual well-being assessed by Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES)	The non-theistic items from DSES will be used. Ranging from 1 (multiple times a day) to 6 (never). The item responses were reverse coded prior to analysis so that larger values would reflect a higher level of daily spiritual experiences.	Change from baseline to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Primary	Spiritual well-being assessed by Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES)	The non-theistic items from DSES will be used. Ranging from 1 (multiple times a day) to 6 (never). The item responses were reverse coded prior to analysis so that larger values would reflect a higher level of daily spiritual experiences.	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.