How do older people describe their sensory experiences of the natural world? A systematic review of the qualitative evidence

Abstract

BackgroundDespite the increased scholarly interest in the senses and sensory experiences, the topic of older people’s sensory engagement with nature is currently under researched. This paper reviews and synthesises qualitative research evidence about how older people, including those living with dementia, describe their sensory engagement with the natural world.MethodsTen databases were searched from 1990 to September 2014: MEDLINE (Ovid), MEDLINE-in-Process (Ovid), PsycINFO (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), GreenFILE (EBSCO), ProQuest Sociology, ASSIA (ProQuest), International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (ProQuest); HMIC (Ovid); Social Policy and Practice (Ovid). Forward and backward citation chasing of included articles was conducted; 20 organizations were contacted to identify unpublished reports. Screening was undertaken independently by two reviewers.ResultsTwenty seven studies were included. Thematic analysis revealed that descriptions of sensory experiences are encompassed within six themes: descriptions from ‘the window’; sensory descriptions that emphasise vision; descriptions of ‘being in nature’; descriptions of ‘doing in nature’; barriers to sensory engagement; and meanings of being and doing in nature.ConclusionsOlder people derive considerable pleasure and enjoyment from viewing nature, being and doing in nature which, in turn has a positive impact on their wellbeing and quality of life. Future research could usefully explore how sensory engagement with nature could be used to stimulate reminiscences of places and people, and evoke past sensory experiences to enrich everyday life and maintain a sense of self.The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42015020736).Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12877-016-0288-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Review: Experiences of healthcare transitions for young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review of qualitative research

“…Thematic analysis was used to synthesise findings (Braun & Clarke, 2006), as other qualitative systematic reviews have applied it to produce findings to inform policy and practice (Orr, Wagstaffe, Briscoe, & Garside, 2016); it is suitable for data that are mainly descriptive (Thomas & Harden, 2008). AP and AJ independently familiarised themselves with all papers.…”

People with dementia attending farm‐based day care in Norway – Individual and farm characteristics associated with participants’ quality of life

“…This underscore the need for surroundings and care environments that promotes social support and prevent depression. Both physical activity (Cooney et al, ; Ohrnbergera, Ficherab, & Suttona, ) and spending time in nature (Carver, Lorenzon, Veitch, Macleod, & Sugiyama, ; Orr et al, ) are claimed to have a positive impact on depressive symptoms. Further, the presence of animals is found to influence positively on mental health (Friedmann et al, ; Olsen et al, ).…”

Untitled

“…Enjoying the outdoors can be soothing for individuals with dementia [15]. Reflecting on life, while gazing at a garden scene, can bring back memories and can be filled with spiritual significance [16]. Gardens provide a harmonious multisensorial experience delivering a feeling of peace and tranquility that can suggest something sacred.…”

“…Gardens provide a harmonious multisensorial experience delivering a feeling of peace and tranquility that can suggest something sacred. The "fresh air" of the outdoors and plantderived "green odor" have been cited as stressreducing aspects of spending time outdoors [17,18,16]. A visual tableau of water, flowers, trees, and sky can be invigorating [16].…”

“…The "fresh air" of the outdoors and plantderived "green odor" have been cited as stressreducing aspects of spending time outdoors [17,18,16]. A visual tableau of water, flowers, trees, and sky can be invigorating [16]. Listening to the sounds of nature -the songs of the birds -can yield a sense of connection with the world.…”