ecancermedicalscience

Short Communication

Sowing the seeds or failing to blossom? A feasibility study of a simple ecotherapy-based intervention in women affected by breast cancer

1 Dec 2015
Ceri Phelps, Carole Butler, Alecia Cousins, Carol Hughes

Engaging in nature-based activities is recognised as providing the basis for easily accessible, cost- effective interventions which can have other important physical and psychological health outcomes. The aim of the reported feasibility study was to explore the acceptability and potential psychological benefits of a simple ecotherapy-based intervention for individuals affected by cancer. A total of seven women from an existing breast cancer support group agreed to take part in the study by cultivating and customising a garden bowl for three months, maintaining a diary, and participating in a focus group at the end of the project. The analysis of the focus group data revealed four main themes that suggested that the women found engaging with the intervention to be therapeutic on a number of different levels: reflecting their cancer journey, a source of positivity, making meaning through memories, and a sense of control provided by engagement with the intervention. Engagement with the diary-writing element of the intervention, however, was not as widely endorsed by the group, as participants were even reluctant to make use of an online forum to share experiences of engaging with the intervention. Overall, the study suggests that the flexibility of level of engagement with an intervention is an important factor in developing acceptable interventions, and that the value of targeted recruitment to improve engagement with novel interventions is paramount.

Related Articles

M T Maria Tereza Nieto-Coronel, Daniela Shveid Gerson, Gian Karla Urey Cuellar, Navia-Bueno Ma Pilar, Maribel Marmol Casas
Ashutosh Mishra, Amit Kumar, Ajay Gogia, Chinmay Bagla, Gajendra Pandit, Jyoti Sharma, Jyoutishman Saikia, Rohan Kapoor, D N Sharma, Atul Batra, Surendra Saini, Supriya Mallick, Nishkarsh Gupta, Brajesh Ratre, Ruchi Rathore, Sandeep Mathur, Sunil Kumar, Suryanarayana Deo
Moushumi Suryavanshi, Prashant Mehta, Manoj Kumar, Saphalta Bhagmar, Vidit Kapoor, Dushyant Kumar, Sweta Mishra, Bhawna Chauhan
Maria Lucila González Donna, Eliza Ramirez Cabrera, Andrea Magali del Valle Ochelli, Lucia Ayala Albertini, Lucas Coradini, Verónica Alejandra Livieres Alayón, Iván Garrigoza Garcete, Cinthia Gauna Colas, Maria Luisa Cabañas León, Jabibi Noguera, Gladys Estigarribia, Alejandro Frydman, Carlos Palmes, Santiago Leguizamon, Matias Rodrigo Chacon, Federico Waisberg
Hafssa El Hilali, Nassiba Bahra, Sanae Guennouni, Chaymae Chbihi, Samia El Hakym, Diango Keita, Sara Nejjari, Abir Oufrid, Oumaima Siyouri, Lamiae Amaadour, Karima Oualla, Zineb Benbrahim, Touria Bouhafa, Nawfel Mellas, Samira El Fakir, Samia Arifi