Exploring the Attractive Factors of Floricultural Therapy: A Case Study on Nurses

Abstract

Since the National Health Insurance system was implemented in Taiwan in 1995, fierce competition in the health care market has led to a shortage of front-line nurses. Such nurses are frequently tasked with an overwhelming amount of complex work, which causes them to experience constant mental stress that elicits anxiety, depression, and negative emotions. Art therapy and horticultural therapy are common stress alleviation methods. Therefore, this study explored the effectiveness of floricultural therapy on relieving the mental stress of nurses. The evaluation grid method of Miryoku engineering was employed in combination with in-depth interviews to compile the attractive factors of floricultural courses. Accordingly, this study examined the experiential cognition and preferences regarding floricultural courses and the perceived therapeutic effect of such courses in highly stressed nurses. The results can be a reference for designing future floricultural therapy courses and promotion.