Increased Use of Porch or Backyard Nature during COVID-19 Associated with Lower Stress and Better Symptom Experience among Breast Cancer Patients.

ABSTRACT: Contact with nature has been used to promote both physical and mental health, and is increasingly used among cancer patients. However, the COVID-19 pandemic created new challenges in both access to nature in public spaces and in cancer care. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the change in active and passive use of nature, places of engaging with nature and associations of nature contact with respect to improvements to perceived stress and symptom experience among breast cancer patients during the pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of people diagnosed with breast cancer using ResearchMatch (n = 56) in July 2020 (the first wave of COVID-19). In this US-based, predominantly white, affluent, highly educated, female sample, we found that, on average, participants were

SUBMITTER: Pearson AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8430585 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature