{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T00:31:09Z","timestamp":1788309069521,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,30]],"date-time":"2024-11-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1732924800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,30]],"date-time":"2024-11-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1732924800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pilot Feasibility Stud"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Loneliness, a major public health concern, could be alleviated through social interventions with nature contact as a primary component. \u201cFriends in Nature\u201d is a complex nature-based social intervention designed to be implemented as part of \u201cReimagining Environments for Connection and Engagement: Testing Actions for Social Prescribing in Natural Spaces\" (RECETAS). This project aims to alleviate loneliness and promote health-related quality of life in six different geographic areas worldwide. Feasibility studies are crucial to assess the viability of complex interventions and study procedures before conducting definitive studies. This paper aims to describe the design, implementation, and evaluation of the six-related feasibility studies on the \u201cFriends in Nature\u201d intervention. These studies specifically evaluate feasibility of recruitment and study procedures, intervention implementation, and data collection and distribution.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>We defined a comprehensive set of indicators to assess the feasibility of \u201cFriends in Nature.\u201d For the first domain, recruitment procedures were assessed to determine their adequacy, while attrition rates were examined to assess participant retention. For the second domain, the implementation of interventions was evaluated, along with the study design\u2019s ability to adapt to unexpected situations and participant adherence to the intervention. Finally, for the third domain, completion rates and the acceptability of the study activities were also analyzed. The feasibility of using specific scales to assess loneliness and well-being was also explored.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>The feasibility indicators defined for this study were useful to assess the feasibility of \u201cFriends in Nature.\u201d Recruitment procedures were generally found to be adequate, and the number of dropouts was low. Interventions were implemented with minor adjustments, and facilitators played a vital role in the well-functioning of the interventions. Although some unexpected situations occurred during the study, adaptations were made, and participants were generally satisfied with the activities proposed. Scales used to assess loneliness and quality of life showed potential for measuring the effects of nature-based social prescribing in the full trial.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>This paper offers valuable insights into the design and execution of feasibility studies for complex interventions like \u201cFriends in Nature.\u201d Findings from these assessments explore the feasibility of \u201cFriends in Nature\u201d and will inform the main RECETAS studies, which are designed to strengthen the evidence base to support the use of nature-based social prescribing to reduce loneliness and promote quality of life.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec><jats:sec>\n                <jats:title>Trial registration\n<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>Barcelona trial: NCT05488496, Prague trial: NCT05522140, and Helsinki trial: NCT05507684.<\/jats:p>\n              <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s40814-024-01575-4","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,30]],"date-time":"2024-11-30T08:15:44Z","timestamp":1732954544000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Evaluating the feasibility of \u201cFriends in Nature,\u201d a complex nature-based social intervention to address loneliness and quality of life in six cities worldwide"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Cristina","family":"Vert","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jill S.","family":"Litt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mireia","family":"Gascon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marta","family":"Roqu\u00e9","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Montse","family":"Mas\u00f3-Aguado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nerkez","family":"Opacin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gabriela","family":"Garcia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anu","family":"Jansson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lucie","family":"Cattaneo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Al\u017eb\u011bta","family":"B\u00e1rtov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laia","family":"Briones-Buixassa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aina","family":"Carb\u00f3","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura J.","family":"Rautiainen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Hidalgo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ashby","family":"Sachs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sara","family":"Dom\u00e8nech","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sergi","family":"Blancafort-Alias","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Iva","family":"Holmerov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kaisu H.","family":"Pitk\u00e4l\u00e4","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Coll-Planas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,30]]},"reference":[{"issue":"May","key":"1575_CR1","first-page":"31","volume":"3","author":"D Perlman","year":"1981","unstructured":"Perlman D, Peplau L. 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The clinical trial of Barcelona received the approval of Research Ethics Committee (REC) at UVic-UCC with registration number 2014\/2022 on 28 June 2022 and Primary Health Care Research Institute of Catalonia with the registration number 22\/170-P on 02\/08\/2022. Moreover, the consortium obtained the approval of the Helsinki University Hospital Ethics Committee (No. HUS\/119\/2022). They also received approval from Social Services and Health Care of the City of Helsinki on 13 June 2022. The protocol in Prague was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Humanities, Charles University, on June 28, 2022. The protocol in Cuenca, Ecuador, was approved by the Committee of Bioethics (Comit\u00e9 de Bio\u00e9tica en Investigaci\u00f3n del \u00c1rea de la Salud (COBIAS)) on June 28, 2022 (2022-001EO-I). The protocol in Melbourne, Australia, was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) Research and Innovation Office NH&MRC Code: EC00237 on October 10, 2022. The protocol in Marseille, France, was approved by the Comit\u00e9 d\u2019\u00e9thique de l\u2019universit\u00e9 d\u2019Aix-Marseille on January 10, 2023. The three trial protocols have been published at . Protocol numbers are as follows: Barcelona Trial: NCT05488496, Prague Trial: NCT05522140, and Helsinki Trial: NCT05507684. Informed consent was obtained from all study participants before enrollment in the study. Human subjects\u2019 data generated throughout this project was anonymized, and safeguards were in place to ensure protection of human subjects\u2019 data.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare that they have no competing interests.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"146"}}