Gardens for seniors: relationship between the gardens characteristics and their usage in a pilot study in 3 Italian nursing homes

Well-designed gardens can encourage older adults to spend more time actively outdoor, increasing their wellbeing, especially in long-term care settings. The present pilot study aims at verifying the relationship between the physical characteristics of the gardens of three nursing homes in Italy and their use in terms of spent time, type of activity and most used places. The pilot study confirm that residents go out in the gardens even if their quality is low, but if the quality of the outdoor spaces increases, they spend more time outdoor.