Francisco Díaz-Martínez, Miguel F Sánchez-Sauco, Laura T Cabrera-Rivera, Claudia A Ortín-Fernández, Esteban Orenes-Piñero, Juan A Ortega-García
{"title":"Harnessing the healing power of nature: a review of natural interventions in substance abuse treatment and prevention.","authors":"Francisco Díaz-Martínez, Miguel F Sánchez-Sauco, Laura T Cabrera-Rivera, Claudia A Ortín-Fernández, Esteban Orenes-Piñero, Juan A Ortega-García","doi":"10.1265/ehpm.24-00145","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Substance abuse is a global problem that cuts across all sectors of society and requires innovative solutions that go beyond conventional treatments. Contact with nature could be a complementary tool to address drug-related problems. This review aimed to assess the impact of natural environments on drug-related outcomes.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>8205 articles were screened between 2013 and 2023 from 6 databases, of which 21 met the inclusion criteria.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Most studies (12) focused on treatment, followed by incidence/consumption (7), prevention (5) and mortality (1). The main drugs studied were drugs in general (12), followed by alcohol (6), tobacco (6), and other drugs, including cannabis and opioids (4). The results of 85% of the studies showed positive outcomes, supporting the effectiveness of nature-based interventions for drug dependence. While some studies produced neutral or negative results.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The use of nature-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of drug addiction shows considerable potential. However, more research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms and to improve evidence-based interventions. Integrating health and environmental policies is essential to promote a holistic approach to drug strategies at the national and international levels.</p>","PeriodicalId":11707,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine","volume":"29 ","pages":"64"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11570648/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1265/ehpm.24-00145","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Substance abuse is a global problem that cuts across all sectors of society and requires innovative solutions that go beyond conventional treatments. Contact with nature could be a complementary tool to address drug-related problems. This review aimed to assess the impact of natural environments on drug-related outcomes.
Method: 8205 articles were screened between 2013 and 2023 from 6 databases, of which 21 met the inclusion criteria.
Results: Most studies (12) focused on treatment, followed by incidence/consumption (7), prevention (5) and mortality (1). The main drugs studied were drugs in general (12), followed by alcohol (6), tobacco (6), and other drugs, including cannabis and opioids (4). The results of 85% of the studies showed positive outcomes, supporting the effectiveness of nature-based interventions for drug dependence. While some studies produced neutral or negative results.
Conclusion: The use of nature-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of drug addiction shows considerable potential. However, more research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms and to improve evidence-based interventions. Integrating health and environmental policies is essential to promote a holistic approach to drug strategies at the national and international levels.
期刊介绍:
The official journal of the Japanese Society for Hygiene, Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine (EHPM) brings a comprehensive approach to prevention and environmental health related to medical, biological, molecular biological, genetic, physical, psychosocial, chemical, and other environmental factors.
Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine features definitive studies on human health sciences and provides comprehensive and unique information to a worldwide readership.