Education and Ethics In Nursing ISSN: 2322-5300

The effect of Plant-Care Training and Nature Interaction on Memory functions in psychiatric disorders: A Randomized Clinical Trial

https://doi.org/10.22034/ethic.2026.2094048.1242
Volume 15, Issue 1
June 2026
Pages 155-167
Education and Ethics In Nursing ISSN: 2322-5300

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Rashin Rostami 1
Arian Kalantari 1
Reyhane Niknezhad, 2
Elham Foroozandeh, 3
Mahgol Nasr-Esfahani, 4
Hoori Lahijanian 5
Hamid Mohamadbeigi, 6
Bahareh Afarigan 7
mohammad akbari 8

1 MSc clinical Psychology, Department of Educational and Psychological Services, Nae. C., Islamic Azad university, Naein, Iran

2 Instructor, Community Health Research Center, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Iran.

3 Associate Professor, Department of Educational and Psychological Services, Nae. C., Islamic Azad university, Naein, Iran.

4 Instructor, Department of psychiatric nursing, Nursing and Midwifery Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

5 Master of Science in Nursing, Farabi Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

6 Psychiatrist, Farabi Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

7 Master of Science in Nursing, Farabi Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

8 Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatric Nursing,, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract
Introduction:Patients with psychiatric disorders face numerous cognitive challenges, such as memory disorders. Plant-Care training and Nature Interaction program, as one of the behavioral activation methods in therapeutic environments, can play an important role in improving patients' clinical memory. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of plant-care training and nature interaction program on the clinical memory of patients with psychiatric disorders hospitalized in Farabi Hospital in Isfahan.
Materials and Methods:This study was a randomized clinical trial with a pre-intervention and immediate post-intervention design, with a control group, in which 70 patients with psychiatric disorders hospitalized at Farabi Medical Center in Isfahan in 1403 were selected using a block randomization method with a 1:1 allocation ratio and with the help of random number generation software and were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The plant-care training and nature interaction program for the experimental group was implemented in six 90-minute sessions, daily, in groups of three to four people.The data collection tool included a demographic profile form and the Wechsler Memory Scale. The outcome assessor (Wechsler test) was blinded to the patient grouping. The resulting data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 software and statistical tests.
Results:The results showed that plant-care training and nature interaction program significantly increased the overall clinical memory score in the experimental group compared with the control group (p < 0.01). Among the clinical memory subscales, only mental control was significantly affected by the intervention (p < 0.04). The intervention explained approximately 23% of the variance in the improvement of the study variables (Wilks' Lambda = 0.76). No significant differences were observed between the two groups in the other clinical memory subscales, including personal information (p < 0.80), orientation (p < 0.88), logical memory (p < 0.49), digit span (p < 0.89), visual memory (p < 0.70), and paired-associate learning (p < 0.66).
Conclusion:Considering the effect of plant-care training and nature interaction program on improving clinical memory in patients with psychiatric disorders, it is suggested that these activities be used as an effective method for such patients in treatment centers.
RCT code: IRCT20101213005385N2

Keywords

Plant-Care
Horticultural Activitiy
Memory
psychiatric disorders
Education
Subjects
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