Parc Taulí wins, for the second consecutive year, the Avedis Donabedian Award for quality in Primary Care

The Parc Taulí Primary Care has been awarded the Award for the highest quality Primary Care Project of the Avedis Donabedian Foundation for the NAT project (Activity Therapies in Nature), on the effect of forest bathing on health emotional state of people with subclinical symptoms of anxiety and depression.

The award ceremony took place yesterday evening at the Axa Auditorium in Barcelona. A representative of the Can Rull CAP Primary Care team, accompanied by the general director of Parc Taulí, Anna Aran, attended.

This project on the effect of forest bathing was carried out with a group of people aged 18 to 75 with mild symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. Guided forest bathing sessions were held in the natural park of Sant Llorenç del Munt i l'Obac with guided meditations and walks in silence with full awareness (mindful walking) among the trees on a circular route of 4km and 2 hours long, without much elevation gain.

The preliminary results of this study showed an immediate impact of forest bathing with a reduction in stress, anxiety and negative affectivity and an increase in full awareness of thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations; as well as the experience of pleasant emotions (joy, pride, enthusiasm, energy...) and increased interaction with other people and perception of life's challenges in an adaptive way.

The project was carried out jointly with the Stress and Health Research Group (GIES) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), together with technicians from the natural park of Sant Llorenç del Munt i l'Obac.

For the second consecutive year, Parc Taulí Primary Care receives the Award for the highest quality project in Primary Care for its projects aimed at improving the emotional well-being of patients. In the previous call, a project on the loneliness of patients was awarded.

The Avedis Donabedian Quality Awards recognize those institutions with a quality plan as a path to excellence and that demonstrate the results achieved in terms of improved assistance and user satisfaction.