The Positive Effect of The Forest Environment in The Ecotherapy Healing Forest Program on The Physical and Mental Health After COVID-19

¹ Doctoral Program of Department Environmental Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Agro Street No 1, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
² Department of Environmental Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Agro Street No 1, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
³ Department of Cartography and Remote Sensing, Faculty Geograpphy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Agro Street No 1, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: author@email.org

Abstract

This research is aimed at students who are currently experiencing excessive coursework and high emotional stress after COVID-19. Where if these conditions are not immediately addressed, it can cause mental illness. The Ecotherapy Healing Forest program offers several activities in it, such as relaxation programs to relieve stress, walks in the forest, and sensory elements to be given to the participants. In this study, 44 student participants were used from class 2018 – class 2021 at Kapuas Sintang University. Participants will be measured their blood sugar levels and oxygen saturation by medical personnel, and given the DASS 42 questionnaire to measure participants’ stress levels. Measurements will be accrued out 5 repetitions of the Ecotherapy Healing Forest program at different times. The results of this study revealed that there was a significant decrease in blood sugar levels, oxygen saturation and stress levels in the participants after participating in the Ecotherapy Healing Forest program. However, for smoking students, the Ecotherapy Healing Forest treatment does not have a significant effect on oxygen saturation values. Therefore, the authors propose Ecotherapy Healing Forest as a non-pharmacological intervention to relieve stress while improving physical health (blood sugar levels and oxygen saturation) for students.