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Actual and Virtual Parks Benefit Quality of Life and Physical Activity: A Cluster Trial

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Abstract

Urban parks provide connectedness to nature as a health resilience environment for promoting health. Virtual reality can provide opportunities for urban citizens to be exposed to natural elements with health benefits. The purpose was to explore the effects of actual and virtual parks on the quality of life and physical activity of urban residents. The study design was a cluster trial. Participants were healthy adults aged 20–50 years, recruited from three college campuses, and randomly assigned to two experimental groups (n = 30, 32) and one control group (n = 30). The intervention with virtual or actual parks was conducted for 30 min a session once a week for 12 weeks. Outcomes were measured using self-reported questionnaires, including the World Health Organization Quality-of-Life Scale-BREF and International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form. In total, 84 participants completed the interventions and post-intervention measures. Results showed that participants who experienced actual parks had significant increases in the social quality of life and light-intensity physical activity and had decreased body weight. Participants who experienced the virtual parks experienced a significant increase in their mental quality of life. Participants in the experimental groups of both kinds of parks had significant improvements in their self-rated health, physical and environmental quality of life, and sedentary time after the intervention. Urban parks are an important natural resource for citizens’ health and physical activity promotion. Virtual parks can simulate actual parks and have similar health benefits and are thus are recommended for citizens who lack opportunities and motivation to go to actual parks.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

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Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan under grant MOST 109-2314-B-038-077-MY3.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Gerontology and Long-Term Care, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wuxing St., Taipei, 11031, Taiwan

    Hsin-Yen Yen

  2. Mater Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Hao-Yun Huang

  3. International Ph.D. Program in Gerontology and Long-Term Care, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Hsin-Yen Yen

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Correspondence to Hsin-Yen Yen.

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Yen, HY., Huang, HY. Actual and Virtual Parks Benefit Quality of Life and Physical Activity: A Cluster Trial. J Urban Health (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-024-00863-x

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