Thanks to the development of cancer diagnosis and treatment
technologies and the activation of early screening, South Korea has a
five-year relative cancer survival rate of over 70%, which is one of
the highest among OECD countries. However, cancer ca...
Thanks to the development of cancer diagnosis and treatment
technologies and the activation of early screening, South Korea has a
five-year relative cancer survival rate of over 70%, which is one of
the highest among OECD countries. However, cancer can recur even
after being declared cured, and as the survival period of cancer
patients increases, so does the treatment period, which causes many
difficulties for cancer patients and their families due to physical and
psychological aftereffects of cancer.
The distress experienced by cancer survivors ranges from normalreactions such as confusion, sadness, and fear to pathological
conditions that cause psychological and social dysfunction, including
depression, anxiety, panic, social isolation, and existential crises. In
addition, various physical aftereffects such as fatigue, pain, and sleep
disorders are also factors that make it difficult to return to daily life.
A meta-analysis study found that 30-40% of people experiencing
cancers suffer from mood disorders according to psychiatric diagnostic
criteria (Güner et al., 2018). In the case of South Korea, the prevalence
of psychiatric disorders was relatively low, but this suggests that
there are barriers to accessing psychiatric care rather than a low
prevalence. Therefore, active psychological support is needed to bridge
this gap. The Ministry of Health and Welfare is continuously
developing a comprehensive cancer management plan to manage the
suffering of people experiencing cancers and improve their quality of
life, but psychological interventions are still lacking as physical,
nutritional, and educational interventions are mainly emphasized.
Therefore, this study aimed to examine the psychological and
physiological effects of forest therapy interventions on people
experiencing cancers and their awareness by using urban forests,
which are easily accessible to people experiencing cancers. The
research participants were people experiencing cancers who were able
to engage in outdoor activities after active cancer treatment, and they
underwent forest therapy at the Chungbuk National University Forest
from April 11 to June 9, 2023. The intervention program consisted of
8 sessions of 2 hours per session, once a week, with 14 participants in
the experimental group and 14 in the control group.To measure the difference in the intervention effects between the
two groups, a mixed study was used that combined quantitative and
qualitative research using a triangulation method of psychological
surveys, physiological saliva tests, and in-depth interviews. The data
collection, analysis, and research methods are as follows. The survey
used the Korean version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies
Depression Scale (CES-D), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the
Korean version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-K), and
the saliva test measured the stress hormone cortisol and the immune
factor interferon-gamma(IFN-γ). A 1:1 in-depth interview was
conducted to determine changes in awareness.
The homogeneity test of the study participants was conducted using
the chi-square test, and the questionnaire test data were subjected to
repeated measures analysis of variance and the Bonferroni post hoc
test. Physiological measurements were analyzed using a paired t-test,
and interview data were analyzed using the Consensual Qualitative
Research method.
The results showed that after participating in forest therapy, the
experimental group had statistically significant reductions in
depression and anxiety and significantly improved sleep quality
compared to the control group, which received no treatment. The
saliva of the experimental group showed a significant decrease in the
stress hormone cortisol and an increase in the immune factor
interferon-gamma, although not statistically significant. The
consensus qualitative research analysis showed that people
experiencing cancer experienced healing and recovery through theprocess of stimulation, acceptance of the forest, purification,
self-acceptance(insight), fulfillment and change. Based on these
findings, we derived core ideas related to psychological growth and
recovery during forest therapy experiences and analyzed the process
of recovery and healing, and proposed a model of recovery from forest
therapy for people experiencing cancer.
The study showed that forest therapy using urban forests
positively impacted the health and recovery of people experiencing
cancer by reducing major psychological difficulties such as
depression and anxiety, improving sleep quality, and physiologically
reducing the stress hormone cortisol. These results are significant
because they demonstrate the efficacy of forest therapy as an
integrative intervention to improve the quality of life of people
experiencing cancer, which is emerging as a social problem.