RESEARCH
The Role of Dish Gardens on the Physical and Neuropsychological Improvement of Hospitalized Children
Summary
This study employed a randomized controlled pre-test and post-test design to investigate the effect of Dish Gardens on the physical and neuropsychological characteristics of hospitalized children. Recognizing that hospitalization is a stressful experience for children that can affect their recovery, and that patients with limited mobility may not access outdoor green spaces, the research explored Dish Gardens as a low-budget and low-risk surrogate for green spaces within the hospital room. Fifty-four hospitalized children in the Rheumatology Department of an Iranian hospital participated, randomly assigned to either an experimental group whose rooms had a Dish Garden designed to mimic urban parks, or a control group without the intervention. Data on physical vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate) and neuropsychological indices (emotional, cognitive, non-symptom) were collected at the start and after 72 hours via nursing staff and parent questionnaires.
The findings demonstrated that the presence of a Dish Garden acted as a catalyst for significant improvement in all measured physical and neuropsychological parameters in the experimental group. While the control group showed only partial or no significant improvement in some variables, the experimental group experienced significant decreases in vital signs and significant increases in positive neuropsychological states such as lack of fear, happiness, relaxation, attention, compatibility, no anxiety, and lack of depression. The study suggests that Dish Gardens enhance health through mechanisms like positive distraction and potentially improved indoor air quality. The results support the use of such indoor green elements to create a more favorable and healing environment for hospitalized children.