An integrative literature review of health benefits of forests

Background and Issues: While various health benefits of forests have been discussed, the current state of knowledge regarding the use of forests for health promotion in Korea has not been systematically investigated yet. Description: To ensure an integrative literature review is complete, we used systematic steps recommended by Whittemore and Knafl (2005): (1) Problem identification; (2) Literature search; (3) Data evaluation; (4) Data analysis; and (5) Interpreting and presenting the results. Empirical studies published from 2000 to present and articles published in Korean within Korea that can be searched through Databases including Research Information Service System (RISS) and EBSCO Host were included. Only articles published in peer-reviewed journals were eligible for this review. The following search terms were used: {forest}, {forest and health}, {forest and healing}, {forest therapy}, {forest experiences}, {forest and education}. Lessons Learned: A total of 187 articles were selected for analysis: experimental studies examining health benefits of forest (n=53), the reports of education programs (n=28), descriptive studies on attitudes toward forests (n=32), and health policy papers (n=74). This review revealed the following limitations in the existing studies: limited generalizability of findings due to a lack of studies with robust experimental design, failure to assess longitudinal effects of forests on health, and failure to assess the effect of forests on both physical and psychological health using objective measures. Recommendations: The finding allowed us to identify areas for future research and practice, including longitudinal experimental studies testing the health benefits of forests and policy papers proposing the health priority areas based on the evidence.