‘Better than medication’：prescribing nature works, project shows

“比药物更有效”：研究表明自然疗法行之有效

A major scheme helping people in England connect with nature led to big improvements in mental health, a report has found. The prescribing of activities in nature to tackle mental ill health has benefited thousands of people across England, a government-backed project has shown.

一份报告发现，一项旨在帮助英格兰人民亲近自然的主要计划对改善精神健康起到了很大的作用。政府资助的一项研究表明，通过亲近自然的活动来治疗精神疾病，已使成千上万的英格兰人受益。

More than 8,000 people were helped to take part in activities including nature walks, community gardening, tree planting and wild swimming. It is thought to be the largest such project in the world so far.

超过8000人参加了自然漫步、社区园艺、植树和野泳等活动。这是迄今为止世界上规模最大的此类项目。

The results showed that after taking part in the schemes, people's feelings of happiness and of life being worthwhile jumped to near national averages, while levels of anxiety fell significantly. The project also found the cost of a green prescription was about 500 pounds, making it cost-effective compared with other treatments. Cognitive behavioural therapy costs about 1,000 pounds for 10 sessions.

结果显示，参加这些活动后，人们的幸福感和生活有价值感上升到接近全国平均水平，而焦虑显著减少。该项目还发现，绿色处方的成本约为500英镑，与其他治疗方法相比，它的成本效益更高。认知行为疗法10次治疗费用约为1000英镑。

The seven green prescribing pilot projects began in 2020 with 5.7 million pounds of government funding. GPs, mental health teams and social workers referred those in need to the schemes.

七个绿色处方试点项目于2020年启动，政府资助570万英镑。全科医生、心理健康团队和社会工作者给有需要的人推荐给这些活动。

Prof Ruth Garside at the University of Exeter, an author of a report on the scheme, said："Our findings show 'green social prescribing' is an effective way of supporting people with their mental health. But this is just the beginning. There must be an ongoing commitment from policymakers."

埃克塞特大学的露丝·加赛德教授撰写了该计划报告，她表示：“我们的研究结果表明，‘绿色社会处方’是支持人们心理健康的有效方式。但这只是开始。政策制定者必须持续做出承诺。”

"There is an awful lot of demand, both from health services and from a lot of people whose needs are not being met," said Dr Becca Lovell, also at the University of Exeter. Mental health services have been a particularly stretched part of the National Health Service. The seven pilots are expected to get a new round of funding to work on expanding their reach.

埃克塞特大学的贝卡·洛维尔博士说：“无论是来自卫生服务还是来自许多需求未得到满足的人，都有大量需求。”心理健康服务一直是国家医疗服务体系中特别紧张的一部分。这七个试点预计将获得新一轮资金，以扩大其覆盖范围。

"After the group I feel joyful, happy, calm," said a participant in one of the schemes. "I have a sense of achievement and I feel my wellbeing increasing."

其中一个计划参与者说：“小组活动结束后，我感到快乐、平静。我有一种成就感，我感觉自己的幸福感在增加。”

Another participant, whose mental ill health is related to trauma, said："It works better than medication for me. It works better than CBT for me. I have my counselling and that is really valuable, but this is on a par with that."

另一位参与者患有与创伤相关的精神疾病，他说：“对我来说，它比药物效果更好。比认知行为疗法更有效。我有我的心理咨询，这真的很宝贵，但这和它是并驾齐驱的。”

The participants were assessed before and after taking part in the green prescribing schemes. Their average happiness scores went from 5.3 out of 10 to 7.5 and feelings that life was worthwhile rose from 4.7 to 6.8. Reported levels of anxiety fell from 4.8 to 3.4. One of the sites also used a medical scale to assess anxiety and depression and found a statistically significant improvement in both.

参与者在参加绿色处方计划之前和之后都接受了评估。他们的平均幸福感从5.3分（满分10分）上升到7.5分，生活有价值的感觉从4.7分上升到6.8分。报告中的焦虑水平从4.8分下降到3.4分。其中一个网站还使用医学量表来评估焦虑和抑郁情况，发现两者均有显著改善。

Dr Marion Steiner, a GP in Bristol and part of the pilot project in the west country, said："Connecting with nature is a lifelong resource with proven benefits for mental and physical health. It can cut through generations of adverse life events."

布里斯托尔的一位全科医生马里恩·斯坦纳博士也是此次英国西南部试点项目的参与者之一，她说：“亲近自然是一生的资源，对身心健康都有明显益处。它可以消除几代人的不良生活影响。”

"But many of the patients I treat can't currently access nature in this way due to a range of personal, social, and cultural barriers. That's why green social prescribing is so important. This project has the potential to reduce a range of prescribing and treatment costs for the NHS, as well as addressing many health needs and lowering the risk of several diseases, from diabetes to depression."

“但由于一系列个人、社会和文化障碍，我治疗的许多患者目前无法以这种方式接触自然。这就是为什么绿色社会处方如此重要。该项目有可能减少英国国家医疗服务体系的一系列处方和治疗成本，同时解决许多健康需求并降低从糖尿病到抑郁症等多种疾病的风险。”

The green prescribing sites were in Humberside, South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Manchester, Surrey and the west country. They reached a broad range of people compared with earlier social prescribing schemes, with 21% from ethnic minority populations and 57% from economically deprived areas.

绿色处方试点项目分布在亨伯赛德、南约克郡、德比郡、诺丁汉郡、曼彻斯特、萨里郡和西部地区。与早期的社会处方计划相比，它们的人群覆盖面更广，其中21%来自少数族裔，57%来自经济贫困地区。