{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/132692"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/132692","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Nature-based activities and the health of cancer survivors","abstract":"Cancer survivorship in the United States continues to grow, with 22.5 million survivors projected by 2032. Despite improved survival rates, cancer survivors often experience persistent physical and psychological challenges. Nature-based interventions have gained attention as accessible, low-cost complementary approaches to support survivor well-being, yet limited research examines unstructured nature activities and mental health outcomes in this population. This study explored the influence of unstructured nature-based leisure activities on the mental health of 98 cancer survivors who completed self-report measures assessing stress (PSS-10), anxiety (GAD-7), fatigue, pain, sleep problems, general health, and subjective well-being, along with their engagement in 14 nature-based activities. Participants experienced moderate to elevated stress (M = 25.23) and anxiety (M = 18.12). Walking was the most commonly reported activity, followed by taking photos and observing flowers and plants. One-way ANOVA results revealed no significant differences between active and passive nature activities in their associations with mental health outcomes, suggesting that activity type may be less important than nature exposure itself. Correlation analyses showed bird watching was significantly associated with lower stress (r = -.200, p = .048) and higher flourishing (r = .240, p = .018), while observing flowers, plants, and animals correlated with flourishing (r = .220, p = .030). Unexpectedly, walking duration positively correlated with stress (r = .203, p = .045), possibly reflecting participants' elevated fatigue and fair to poor general health. Findings suggest that nature-based activities, regardless of type or intensity, may support cancer survivors' well-being.","abstract_html":"Cancer survivorship in the United States continues to grow, with 22.5 million survivors projected by 2032. Despite improved survival rates, cancer survivors often experience persistent physical and psychological challenges. Nature-based interventions have gained attention as accessible, low-cost complementary approaches to support survivor well-being, yet limited research examines unstructured nature activities and mental health outcomes in this population. This study explored the influence of unstructured nature-based leisure activities on the mental health of 98 cancer survivors who completed self-report measures assessing stress (PSS-10), anxiety (GAD-7), fatigue, pain, sleep problems, general health, and subjective well-being, along with their engagement in 14 nature-based activities. Participants experienced moderate to elevated stress (M = 25.23) and anxiety (M = 18.12). Walking was the most commonly reported activity, followed by taking photos and observing flowers and plants. One-way ANOVA results revealed no significant differences between active and passive nature activities in their associations with mental health outcomes, suggesting that activity type may be less important than nature exposure itself. Correlation analyses showed bird watching was significantly associated with lower stress (r = -.200, p = .048) and higher flourishing (r = .240, p = .018), while observing flowers, plants, and animals correlated with flourishing (r = .220, p = .030). Unexpectedly, walking duration positively correlated with stress (r = .203, p = .045), possibly reflecting participants' elevated fatigue and fair to poor general health. Findings suggest that nature-based activities, regardless of type or intensity, may support cancer survivors' well-being.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kotagedara Liyanage, Piyumi Madushani Perera"],"institution":"University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.S.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Recreation, Sport, and Tourism","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Payne, Laura","Fernandez, Mariela"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-12","date_published":"2025-12","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:07Z","subjects":["Mental Health","Cancer Survivors","Nature Based Activities"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright 2025 Piyumi Madushani Perera Kotagedara Liyanage"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132692","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Payne, Laura","Fernandez, Mariela"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kotagedara Liyanage, Piyumi Madushani Perera"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2025-12","2025-12-12"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Recreation, Sport, and Tourism"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.S."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Mental Health","Cancer Survivors","Nature Based Activities"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2025 Piyumi Madushani Perera Kotagedara Liyanage"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132692"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Cancer survivorship in the United States continues to grow, with 22.5 million survivors projected by 2032. Despite improved survival rates, cancer survivors often experience persistent physical and psychological challenges. Nature-based interventions have gained attention as accessible, low-cost complementary approaches to support survivor well-being, yet limited research examines unstructured nature activities and mental health outcomes in this population. This study explored the influence of unstructured nature-based leisure activities on the mental health of 98 cancer survivors who completed self-report measures assessing stress (PSS-10), anxiety (GAD-7), fatigue, pain, sleep problems, general health, and subjective well-being, along with their engagement in 14 nature-based activities. Participants experienced moderate to elevated stress (M = 25.23) and anxiety (M = 18.12). Walking was the most commonly reported activity, followed by taking photos and observing flowers and plants. One-way ANOVA results revealed no significant differences between active and passive nature activities in their associations with mental health outcomes, suggesting that activity type may be less important than nature exposure itself. Correlation analyses showed bird watching was significantly associated with lower stress (r = -.200, p = .048) and higher flourishing (r = .240, p = .018), while observing flowers, plants, and animals correlated with flourishing (r = .220, p = .030). Unexpectedly, walking duration positively correlated with stress (r = .203, p = .045), possibly reflecting participants' elevated fatigue and fair to poor general health. Findings suggest that nature-based activities, regardless of type or intensity, may support cancer survivors' well-being.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-12-01","The student, Piyumi Kotagedara Liyanage, accepted the attached license on 2025-12-05 at 00:27.","The student, Piyumi Kotagedara Liyanage, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2025-12-05 at 00:41.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2025-12-12 at 08:11.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #23071 on 2026-02-19 at 18:46:45"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Nature-based activities and the health of cancer survivors"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Payne, Laura","Fernandez, Mariela"],"dc:creator":["Kotagedara Liyanage, Piyumi Madushani Perera"],"dc:date":["2025-12","2025-12-12"],"dc:description":["Cancer survivorship in the United States continues to grow, with 22.5 million survivors projected by 2032. Despite improved survival rates, cancer survivors often experience persistent physical and psychological challenges. Nature-based interventions have gained attention as accessible, low-cost complementary approaches to support survivor well-being, yet limited research examines unstructured nature activities and mental health outcomes in this population. This study explored the influence of unstructured nature-based leisure activities on the mental health of 98 cancer survivors who completed self-report measures assessing stress (PSS-10), anxiety (GAD-7), fatigue, pain, sleep problems, general health, and subjective well-being, along with their engagement in 14 nature-based activities. Participants experienced moderate to elevated stress (M = 25.23) and anxiety (M = 18.12). Walking was the most commonly reported activity, followed by taking photos and observing flowers and plants. One-way ANOVA results revealed no significant differences between active and passive nature activities in their associations with mental health outcomes, suggesting that activity type may be less important than nature exposure itself. Correlation analyses showed bird watching was significantly associated with lower stress (r = -.200, p = .048) and higher flourishing (r = .240, p = .018), while observing flowers, plants, and animals correlated with flourishing (r = .220, p = .030). Unexpectedly, walking duration positively correlated with stress (r = .203, p = .045), possibly reflecting participants' elevated fatigue and fair to poor general health. Findings suggest that nature-based activities, regardless of type or intensity, may support cancer survivors' well-being.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2027-12-01","The student, Piyumi Kotagedara Liyanage, accepted the attached license on 2025-12-05 at 00:27.","The student, Piyumi Kotagedara Liyanage, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2025-12-05 at 00:41.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2025-12-12 at 08:11.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #23071 on 2026-02-19 at 18:46:45"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132692"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2025 Piyumi Madushani Perera Kotagedara Liyanage"],"dc:subject":["Mental Health","Cancer Survivors","Nature Based Activities"],"dc:title":["Nature-based activities and the health of cancer survivors"],"dc:type":["text","Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Recreation, Sport, and Tourism"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.S."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:07Z"}