Being encouraged to enjoy fresh air and open spaces could be as effective as prescription pills for many patients, according to landmark research.
Doctors at five practices in Edinburgh began prescribing nature to patients in a pilot project and three quarters thought it helped, according to a report to be published tomorrow.
Only four out of 10 GPs had considered “prescribing” outdoors to patients before the project but afterwards nine out of 10 said they would now do so.
The study, part of Nature Prescriptions, was inspired by growing evidence that connecting with nature improved physical and mental wellbeing.
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The five-month programme in 2020 was a collaboration between the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds wildlife charity (RSPB) and Edinburgh and Lothians Health Foundation. A number of patients were urged to go outdoors to connect with green spaces and wildlife to see if it would help ease their symptoms, while also being offered more traditional treatment.
The report revealed that nearly three quarters of patients felt they had benefited from connecting with nature once a week.
According to supporters, the study demonstrates that Nature Prescriptions is an effective, low-cost health intervention that has no negative side effects, is able to support a range of physical and mental health conditions, and is complementary to traditional treatments.
The report also revealed that before the pilot only 39% of prescribers recommended nature-based activities to patients. Afterwards, 89% were actively prescribing it with more saying they would start over the coming year.
The positive results could see the scheme rolled out to other parts of the country.
Nature Prescriptions was launched in Shetland in 2017 due to increasing evidence of the link between good mental health and feeling connected to the natural world. In late 2020 it was introduced in Edinburgh to see if city-based patients benefited.
Anne McCall, director of RSPB Scotland, said: “We have never been more aware of the importance of nature to our health, so I am delighted that we are able to offer evidence of the value of Nature Prescriptions to patients and healthcare professionals.
“RSPB Scotland is promoting this initiative because we recognise that for nature to thrive it requires people to access it, enjoy it, value it and therefore want to look after it. I hope we will be able to learn from this report and take it forward into greater expansion and uptake.
“Our long-term vision is that nature becomes part of the toolkit of every health professional in Scotland.”
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