Caring with Nature: a therapeutic garden in the hospital setting

The open-access article “Cuidar com a natureza. Contribuições para um jardim terapêutico no espaço hospitalar”, co-authored by *Diogo Guedes Vidal, has been published in the Revista Trabalhos de Antropologia e Etnologia (SPAE – Sociedade Portuguesa de Antropologia e Etnologia).

The nature–health nexus is gaining prominence across disciplines. Conducted at the Teaching Hospital of Universidade Fernando Pessoa, the study examined preferences, functions and expectations of patients, relatives, healthcare professionals and managers concerning the creation of a therapeutic garden. It forms part of the Compor Mundos: Humanities, Well-being and Health network and was linked to the BSc in Landscape Architecture at the University of Porto, generating design proposals suitable for healthcare settings.

The research followed an interdisciplinary perspective (psychology, sociology, geography and landscape architecture) and a mixed-methods design, combining qualitative and quantitative techniques. Participation from institutional and clinical stakeholders enabled the co-creation of solutions grounded in the situated knowledge of carers, service users and service managers.

Findings provide practical guidance for implementing therapeutic gardens in hospitals and health units, with the potential to humanise clinical environments, enhance patient–professional experience and foster psychosocial well-being.

Open-access article: https://revistataeonline.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/0/2/22023964/cuidar_marinaafonso_tae65.pdf

Societies and Environmental Sustainability Research Group at the Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet, TERRA Associated Laboratory at the University of Coimbra and its Extension at Universidade Aberta of Portugal.