|
| Study | Aim | Design | Participants | Setting | Description of the programme | Outcomes assessed or elicited |
|
| de Bruin et al. 2009 study 2 Netherlands | To identify, describe, quantify, and compare the activities of older men and women with dementia attending green care farms and regular day care | Cross-sectional observational study. Participants were observed for either 1 or 2 days with the main activity in each 15-minute period recorded | 55 people with dementia aged 65 or above; 30 (25 male) attending a green care farm and 25 (7 male) attending a regular day care facility; mean MMSE scores in the range 18–20 | 11 green care farms and 12 regular day care facilities in the same region. The regular day care facilities were socially oriented rather than providing medical treatment, and mostly linked to residential care homes | Day care programme at green care farms include outdoor activities such as feeding animals, cleaning pens, yard work and gardening as well as domestic activities such as meal preparation. Day care programmes at regular facilities include mostly indoor leisure and recreational activities | Extent of participation in organised activities; types of activities undertaken; time spent outdoors; physical effort expended |
| de Bruin et al. 2010 Netherlands | To compare dietary intake of older people with dementia attending green care farms and regular day care | Cross-sectional observational study | 53 people with dementia aged 65 or above; 30 (85% male) attending a green care farm and 23 (30% male) attending a regular day care facility | 10 green care farms offering day care to groups of 5–15 frail older people per day and 10 regular day care facilities in the same region | Day care programmes as above | Dietary intake, nutritional status, body mass index, appetite |
| de Bruin et al. 2012 Netherlands | To compare functional ability and rate of functional decline, co-morbidity and medication use of older people with dementia attending green care farms and regular day care | Observational longitudinal cohort study. Data were collected from primary carers at baseline, 6 month follow-up, and 12 month follow-up. Participants were divided into 3 groups reflecting duration of attendance at day care | 88 people with dementia aged 65 or above; 47 attending green care farms and 41 attending regular day care facilities. Mean MMSE scores in the range 19–22 | 15 green care farms offering day care to groups of 5–15 frail older people per day and 22 regular day care facilities in the same region | | Instrumental activities of daily living (rated by carer), co-morbidity, medication use |
| de Bruin et al. 2015 Netherlands | To explore the value of day care at green care farms in terms of social participation for people with dementia | Qualitative study. Semistructured interviews were analysed using framework analysis | 21 people with dementia (mean age 71.1, 18 male) attending green care farms, 12 people with dementia (mean age 76.1, 10 male) on waiting lists to attend green care farms, and 17 people with dementia (mean age 85.4, 8 male) attending regular day care | Participants were recruited through 10 green care farms and 5 regular day care facilities in the same region, and interviewed at home | Day care programmes as above | Comparison of the three groups regarding initiation of day care, selection of day care setting, and domains of social participation experienced |
| de Bruin et al. 2021 Netherlands | To elucidate the value of nature-based adult day services in urban areas for the health and well-being of people with dementia and carers | Qualitative study. Semistructured interviews were analysed using framework analysis | 21 people with dementia (majority male; age available for 16, mean 74.5) and 18 family carers (10 interviews were with dyads); 17 providers of nature-based adult day care services in urban areas | Participants were involved with 15 nature-based adult day services in urban areas | Nature-based adult day services offered in settings such as city farms, community gardens, and nursing home gardens, and provided by health and social care professionals, social entrepreneurs, social care organisations or community groups. Participants can undertake a wide range of outdoor activities as well as indoor, domestic, and recreational activities | Types and characteristics of nature-based day care services provided; motivation to initiate nature-based day care (perspectives of people with dementia and carers only); value of nature-based day care for people with dementia (all three perspectives); value of nature-based day care for carers (perspectives of carers and providers only) |
| Myren et al. 2017 Norway | To describe the influence of place on everyday life in day care services at a green care farm and a regular day care facility | Qualitative descriptive study. Observations and informal conversations analysed with inductive manifest content analysis | 14 people with dementia (mean MMSE score 21); 8 attending the green care farm (mean age 77, 2 male) and 6 attending regular day care (mean age 68, 5 male); 9 staff members from the two facilities | A green care farm providing a home-like setting in a rural area and a regular day care facility in a suburban area | Day care programmes | Influence of place, reflected in the main category of enabling and collaboration in daily life, and depending on the physical and social environment, and the type of activities (including active versus passive participation) |
| Ibsen et al. 2020a Norway | To describe the characteristics of people with dementia attending farm-based day care and identify associations of individual and farm characteristics with quality of life | Quantitative observational study | 94 people with dementia (mean age 76, 62% male, most in the early stages of dementia) | Participants attended 25 farm-based day care services (all 35 such facilities in Norway were contacted) | Farm-based day care programmes | Characteristics: dementia severity, awareness, depression, anxiety, neuropsychiatric symptoms, physical health status, functional ability, social support and quality of life. Factors associated with quality of life (measured by QoL-AD) and variation in QoL between settings |
| Ibsen et al. 2020b Norway | To identify characteristics and next destinations of people who withdraw from farm-based day care services | One-year follow-up of the participants in Ibsen et al. 2020a; information given by service providers | 92 people with dementia from the sample reported in Ibsen et al. 2020a | At baseline participants attended one of 25 farm-based day care services | Day care programmes | Demographic and clinical characteristics of those withdrawing and continuing; factors predicting withdrawal; whether transferred to residential care or continued to live at home; if living at home, whether transferred to regular day care |
| Garshol et al. 2020a Norway | To investigate the potential of farm-based day care services to promote physical activity for people with dementia, in comparison with regular day care | Secondary cross-sectional analysis of data from two studies, one focused on farm-based day care and the other on regular day care | 136 people with dementia; 29 (mean age 74, mean CDR 1.22, 20 male) attending farm-based day care and 107 (mean age 84.3, mean CDR 1.52, 36 male) attending regular day care | Participants attending farm-based day care were recruited from 15 services, and participants attending regular day care were recruited from municipal day care centres in 3 counties | Day care programmes | Level of physical activity established from actigraphy data |
| Ellingsen-Dalskau 2021 Norway | To compare the quality of care at green care farms and regular day care | Direct observation of participants using ecological momentary assessment of activities | 42 people with dementia attending farm-based day care; 46 people with dementia attending regular day care. No demographic information was provided but the profile of participants is likely to be similar to that of the participants in Ibsen et al. 2020a | 10 farm-based day care services and 7 regular day care services | Day care programmes | Type of activity, level of engagement, physical effort, location, social interaction and mood |
| Garshol et al. 2020b (PhD thesis paper 3) Norway | To compare quality of life over time for people with dementia attending farm-based day care or regular day care, and examine individual and contextual predictors of quality of life over time for those attending farm-based day care | Secondary analysis of baseline and 12-month follow-up observational data from two studies, one focused on farm-based day care and the other on regular day care | Farm-based day care: 45 (mean age 74.7, 28 male) of the 94 recruited by Ibsen et al. 2020a who remained in the study at 12-month follow-up and were included in analyses. Regular day care: 100 (mean age 81.5, 40 male) of the 183 people recruited who remained in the study at 12 month follow-up | Participants attending farm-based day care as described by Ibsen et al. 2020a; participants attending regular day care were recruited through invited day care centres | Day care programmes | For both groups: depression, neuropsychiatric symptoms, co-morbidity, physical activity level, quality of life (QoL-AD, self- and carer rated). For farm-based day care group only: well-being (WHO-5), social support, time spent at day care, time spent outdoors |
| Ibsen and Eriksen 2021 Norway | To investigate how people with dementia describe their experience of attending farm-based day care and the interactions they have | Qualitative study. Semistructured interviews analysed using manifest and latent content analysis. Findings discussed in the context of the theory of salutogenesis | 10 people with dementia (all but one aged over 65; 6 male) | 5 farm-based day care services | Farm-based day care programmes | How attending day care makes them feel, across the categories of social relations, being occupied, and the extent to which the service is individually tailored |
| Taranrod 2021 Norway | To explore the experiences of family carers whose relative attends farm-based day care | Qualitative study. Semistructured interviews analysed using content analysis | 8 carers (4 spouses, 4 adult children) of people with dementia (all aged over 65 with mild-to-moderate dementia) | Participants were recruited from 7 farm-based day care services in rural or suburban areas | Day care programmes | How farm-based day care affected their daily lives; perceptions of the service at the farm; farm-based day care as a stage in the dementia trajectory |
| Garshol et al. 2022 Norway | To compare the emotional well-being of people with dementia attending farm-based day care and regular day care and identify differences related to differences in the care environment and to type of activity | Direct observation of participants using ecological momentary assessments | 42 people with dementia attending farm-based day care; 46 people with dementia attending regular day care. No demographic information was collected but the profile of participants is likely to be similar to that of the participants in Ibsen et al. 2020a | 10 farm-based day care services and 7 regular day care facilities | Day care programmes | Observed mood as an indicator of emotional well-being |
| Ura et al. 2021 Japan | To implement green care farms that use rice farming, explore the experience of participating, and compare the effect on well-being and cognition relative to regular day care | Realist-informed convergent parallel mixed methods design. Quantitative data were collected from both the rice farming and reference groups and additionally qualitative data were collected from the rice farming group | Rice farming group: 15 people with dementia (mean age 75.6) attending the rice farming programme in addition to attending regular day care or receiving standard care in a group home reference group: 14 people with dementia (mean age 79.9) attending regular day care or receiving standard care in a group home. Rice farming group had more males and more people with prior experience of rice farming | Participants were recruited from two day care facilities and two group homes. The reference group were recruited from facilities located at a distance that precluded participation in the rice farming care programme | Rice farming care programme one hour per week for 25 weeks, from rice planting through to harvesting | Quantitative: participation rate at the green care farm, well-being, cognition. Qualitative: enjoyment, connection |
|
