노인의 심리적 회복을 위한 오감을 접목한 원예치유환경 향상 및 효과에 대한 연구

Abstract

The number of people aged 65 or older in Korea has risen rapidly from 7.8% in 2000 to 15.7% in 2020, and 20% of the total population is composed of 65 or older people to reach the super-aged society by 2026. Low birthrates and extended life span promote an aged society and can cause great problems in various fields such as society, economy, culture and environment. The elderly, in particular, suffer from senile diseases such as stress, dementia, depression, anxiety, panic disorder and loss due to the extension of physical life, which is causing another social problem. Amid such a rapidly changing social environment, various programs are being developed to cure diseases of the elderly. In particular, social and academic interests in the living environment where the elderly stay and live have increased. Although gardening activities are being attempted as a way to treat diseases of those at facilities for the elderly, these gardening activities are limited due to the influence of the external environment or season. Therefore, allowing such a horticultural environment indoors has the advantage of being able to be used at all times without being affected by the climate or season, and improving accessibility for the elderly. In addition, the horticultural environment can help the various psychological disorders of the human body, such as senile diseases, depression, and dementia, not only improve social problems but also improve the economy and the physical environment where we reside, and improve the quality of life of the elderly, not just the extension of physical life.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the suggestion of gardening environment that combines five senses for the psychological recovery of the elderly.

This research conducted a related literature analysis to find out the healing effects of five senses and to organize the horticulture environment by combining five senses with visual, tactile, auditory, and olfactory senses, and to derive the plant placement method for horticulture activities in indoor spaces. This study analyzed based on literature on brain wave and brain function index, and after examining the definition of VR environment and the prior researches on actual sense of VR environment, which was used as basic data for implementing virtual reality-based VR devices and VR environment instead of actual horticultural environment. The method of deriving horticulture environment by combining five senses was applied to plants that produce flowers and fruits in the horticultural environment by deriving colors that can give psychological stability in the indoor space from the perspective. This study conducted horticultural therapy using auditory sense after examining the music preferred by the participants, allowing them to choose a song that could give them joy and comfort. The original treatment using sense of smell was derived from the analysis of prior studies related to the treatment of aromatherapy, which could provide a sense of psychological stability. In the sense of touch, fruit picking was applied to stimulate the hand of the participants. This study selects 17 elderly people as a participant who does not have any serious problems in sight, smell, hearing, and touch, and who has no repulsion when wearing virtual reality-based VR, and who has no major problems in using hand limbs as the final research subjects. This study was conducted using music fragrance (audible, olfactory) program, horticultural activity (visual, tactile) program and music fragrance horticultural activity (audible, olfactory, visual, and tactile) program using five senses as research tools. This study measured six variables before and after the experience of these three programs, brain function index (caution index, attention ratio, tension level, anti-stress index, emotion index, and brain index). It also measured three variables for the physiological response test, and compared and analyzed their effects before and after the program experience. This study analyzed collected data such as brain function index and blood pressure and heart rate measurements using the SPSS Windows (Version 26.0) program, and verified them at the significance level of α=.05

This study collected data on the effects of experiencing musical fragrance (audible, olfactory), horticultural activities (visual, tactile) and music fragrance horticultural activities (visual, tactile, auditory, and olfactory) by measuring the brain function index and blood pressure and heart rate changes of the subjects, and the results obtained are as follows.

First, music fragrance (audible, olfactory) programs using five senses have no significant results in psychological response tests, but since they have been analyzed to have significant effects in physiological response tests, music fragrance programs using auditory and olfactory sense have shown limited effects on the physiological recovery of the elderly.

Second, in the case of horticultural activity (visual, tactile) programs, the psychological response test showed significant results in all six parameters of the brain function index, but since all three parameters of the physiological response test did not produce significant results, the horticultural activity programs using visual and tactile effects were analyzed to have a limited effect on the psychological recovery of the elderly.

Third, in the case of music fragrance horticultural activity (visual, tactile, auditory, and olfactory) programs, all six of the psychological response tests were able to obtain significant results, and two of the three physiological response tests resulted in significant results, so it was analyzed that the music horticulture program using five senses was effective for the psychological and physiological recovery of the elderly.

This study measured the brain function index and changes in blood pressure and heart rate of 17 subjects and produced the results of the study on the effects of music and fragrance (audible, olfactory), horticultural activities (visual, tactile) and music fragrance horticultural activities (visual, tactile, auditory, and olfactory) experience. The music fragrance program showed only physiological responses, and the horticultural activity program showed only psychological effects, but the music fragrance horticulture program, which combines all five senses, was analyzed to have significant effects both psychologically and physiologically. In conclusion, it came to the conclusion that providing a combined healing environment for the elderly with five senses could lead to greater healing effects. Therefore, this study predicts that the healing environment combined with five senses with horticultural environment will be able to be used as a healing environment to prevent or cure senile diseases, and suggests it as a very effective program for the health care of the elderly. Since this study was conducted through virtual reality-based VR devices, there is a limit to generalize it as a healing environment for the elderly in all facilities, and this research suggests a follow-up study that expands the scope and scale of the target to make it practical.