Effectiveness of nature-based walking interventions in improving mental health in adults: a systematic review

Abstract

Nature-based walking interventions represent a low-cost, eco-friendly activity, designed to assist people in maintaining physical well-being and improving their mental-health status. This systematic review aims to evaluate the evidence regarding the effectiveness of nature-based walking interventions in the improvement of mental health outcomes in adults. This paper draws upon Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA), PsycINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Web of Science Core Collection, Doctoral thesis databases (ProQuest), and manual searches. Due to the heterogeneity of the eligible studies, a narrative synthesis was employed. The present review includes 1,209 adult participants, of whom 336 were female; it also involves 17 discrete studies. The evidence from this systematic review suggests that nature-based walking interventions can indeed improve adults’ moods, sense of optimism, mental well-being, and nature connectedness. They simultaneously mitigate stress, anxiety, and negative rumination. In addition, compared with urban walking, nature-based walking interventions may bring greater benefits vis-à-vis anxiety and rumination. This review contributes to the synthesis of evidence for nature-based walking interventions, and identifies several research gaps around the topic. In clinical practice, nature-based interventions may be used to relieve one’s negative mood, stress, and anxiety. To enhance treatment efficacy, however, they should be combined with formal modes of psychotherapy.