Clinical trial NCT02623855: Stay Healthy In Nature Everyday: Family Nature Outings in a Low Income Population
Official title: Stay Healthy In Nature Everyday: a Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effect of Family Nature Outings on Stress and Physical Inactivity in a Low Income Population
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Stress, Psychological
Social Isolation
Physical Activity
Keywords: Parks
Well-being
Stress
Physical Activity
Nature
Greenspace
Lead sponsor: UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: East Bay Regional Park District
name: National Recreation and Park Association
name: University of California, San Francisco
First posted: 2015-12-08
Enrollment: 156
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 4
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: The SHINE study is a randomized controlled study of the effect of a park-based family support group on multiple outcomes (including stress and physical activity) in a low income population.

Detailed description: Despite mounting evidence that nature matters for human health, we are not aware of any prospective intervention trials looking at the use of nature as a health intervention. Like other protective factors, such as the presence of a caring adult, safe play places, greater stimulation, the presence of green-space in a child's life has been empirically linked to greater resilience. Nature has been proposed as a buffer to stress through several pathways: by providing a space for friends and families to gather (thereby increasing social support and improving family relationships), by increasing opportunities for physical activity, and by improving cognition. Research to date suggests that participation in outdoor activities facilitates a sense of connectedness to place. This sense of attachment may also provide a form of social support. Families served by Children's Hospital Oakland Primary Care Clinic experience high levels of stress. As a safety-net clinic, the primary care clinic serves a diverse set of patients, with a common thread of poverty. The Stay Healthy In Nature program was developed to encourage stress management skills through play and physical activity in parks. The program uses a combination of facilitated and independent outings into local parks to encourage sustained behavior change and measurable health benefits.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Child must be 4 years and older, a patient in our clinic, physically able, available for follow up, able to answer questionnaire
* Caregiver must be 18 or older, legal guardian, physically able, able for follow up, able to answer questionnaire

Exclusion Criteria:

* Enrolled in a weight loss program, unable to be physically active, unable to give informed consent, unable to follow up for study duration.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Change in Stress
timeFrame: 3 months
measure: Change in Stress
timeFrame: 1 month
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Change in Park Visits Per Week
timeFrame: 1 month
measure: Change in Minutes of Moderate Physical Activity Per Day
timeFrame: 3 months
measure: Change in Cortisol Level in Parents
timeFrame: 3 months
measure: Change in Minutes of Moderate Physical Activity Per Day
timeFrame: 1 month
measure: Change in Cortisol Level in Parents
timeFrame: 1 month
measure: Change in Park Visits Per Week
timeFrame: 3 month
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Oakland
country: United States
facility: UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland Primary Care Clinic
state: California
Study officials:
affiliation: UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland
name: Nooshin Razani, MD, MPH
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Razani N, Morshed S, Kohn MA, Wells NM, Thompson D, Alqassari M, Agodi A, Rutherford GW. Effect of park prescriptions with and without group visits to parks on stress reduction in low-income parents: SHINE randomized trial. PLoS One. 2018 Feb 15;13(2):e0192921. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192921. eCollection 2018.