Table 1 Characteristics of included studies
From: The role of nature in cancer patients' lives: a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis
First author (year) country (ref) | Discipline | Sample size, n | Participants [ages] | Methodological approach | Data collection | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blair (2013) US [43] | Nutrition Science / Oncology | 12 | Survivors mixed diagnosis [adult mean = 56 yrs., children mean = 10 yrs] | Not stated | Semi-structured telephone survey | To explore the feasibility and effects of a vegetable gardening intervention pairing 12 adult and child cancer survivors with Master Gardeners. |
Butterfield (2014) UK [28] | Doctoral thesis in Arts | 88 | Mixed diagnosis [not stated] | Ethnography | Interviews (20 min) post photo-elicitation, open-ended online survey | To explore experiences of cancer care centres’ gardens and how these support quality of care and a sense of wellbeing. |
English (2008) Canada [54] | Public health | 14 | Breast cancer patients at various stages [30–65 yrs] | Grounded Theory | Semi-structured in-depth interviews | To explore the ways in which environments contribute to healing and recovery from breast cancer. |
Pascal (2010) Australia [55] | Public health | 15 | Breast cancer patients at various stages [35–70 yrs] | Hermeneutic phenomenology | In-depth interviews | To explore how therapeutic landscapes shape the experiences of living with cancer. |
Ray (2013) Canada [44] | Community health | 15 | Breast cancer survivors [14 of 15 participants were 50 yrs. or older] | Content analysis | Semi-structured interviews | To explore breast cancer survivors’ lived experience of dragon-boating and how it influences health-related quality of life. |
Rowlands (2008) UK [11] | Palliative care | 12 | Advanced cancer inpatients [25–65 yrs] | Phenomenology | Semi-structured interviews | To explore the views of advanced cancer patients about the effect of the ward environment on their overall well-being. |
Spees (2015) Canada [45] | Health and rehab | 28 | Survivors [35–83 yrs] | Thematic analysis | Focus group | To explore perceptions of health behaviour change in cancer survivors following an urban gardening program. |
Stevens (2004) Canada [13] | Nursing and medicine | 11 | Adolescent cancer patients [ages not given] | Naturalistic | Videotaped interviews during expedition | To explore adolescent cancer patients’ experiences in an adventure therapy program from a health-related quality of life (HRQOL) perspective. |
Unruh (2000) US [46] | Occupational therapy | 3 | Breast cancer patients [35–57 yrs] | Thematic analysis | Semi-structured interviews | To explore the meaning of gardening for three breast cancer patients using attention restoration theory. |
Unruh (2002) US [40] | Occupational therapy | 18 / 42 | Mixed cancer diagnosis / other chronic disease [32–80 yrs] | Phenomenology | Semi-structured interviews | To explore the meaning of gardens and gardening in the lives of people with serious health problems. |
Unruh (2011) US [41] | Health and human performance | 15 / 42 | Mixed cancer diagnosis / other chronic disease [32–80 yrs] | Hermeneutic phenomenology | Semi-structured interviews | To explore the meaning of gardens and gardening as a lived experience of leisure gardening amongst people with serious health problems, chronic and progressive disease. |