The Effect of Horticultural Therapy on Mental Health and Burnout Levels of Nursing Home Workers

The incidence of people with disabilities in need of care services is increasing all over the world. This situation significantly increases the need for nursing homes and caregivers. In many countries, it is seen that "Horticultural Therapy" programs have started to be implemented to improve mental health. In this context, our aim in the project is to determine the effect of the "Horticultural therapy" program applied to nursing home employees in terms of mental health and burnout in nursing home employees. It is thought that the positive effect of this practice on nursing home employees will be able to better maintain their care-oriented practices. It is envisaged that the gardens to be built within the scope of the therapy program can be planned as areas where both caregivers and caregivers can be used, and the application can be integrated into other areas within the scope of public health over time

Caregivers working in a nursing home will be in the experimental group, and caregivers working in a different care center in the same region will be in the control group. A total of 8 sessions of horticultural therapy activities will be explained to the nursing home employees in the experimental group 1 time a week for 2 months. These trainings, which will be given to the people in the experimental group, will be held in the service building in the nursing home building and in the garden (practical) trainings. 4 different groups of 8/9 people will be formed from 30 people in each garden experiment group and the gardens will be allocated to the users. The purpose of these groups is not to make different applications, but to use the area comfortably. These garden users will be given different vegetables, fruits, seasonal flowers, fruit and ornamental tree seedlings and will be asked to design and implement their own gardens. The preliminary preparation of the gardens will be done through the procurement of services within the scope of the project.Horticultural therapy training will be carried out by the landscape architect who is a researcher in the project. In our project, all activities will be carried out under the supervision of nurse researchers and landscape architect researchers involved in the project. This therapy program is expected to reduce depression, anxiety, stress levels and burnout levels that affect mental health. It is thought that the positive effect of this practice on nursing home employees will be able to better maintain their care-oriented practices. It is envisaged that the gardens to be built within the scope of the therapy program can be planned as areas where both caregivers and caregivers can be used, and the application can be integrated into other areas within the scope of public health over time.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Working in a nursing home
* Not being allergic to flowers and plants
* Willingness to work
* To be open to communication and cooperation,
* Scoring 8 points or more on the stress sub-dimension of the DASS measurement tool

Exclusion Criteria:

* Those with musculoskeletal disorders
* Those who use antipsychotic drugs