Nature-based self-care in middle-aged and older adult population

Introduction: Modern person-centred healthcare emphasizes the importance of older adults engaging in nature-based self-care to maintain health and well-being. Such self-care involves intentional engagement in nature-related activities to preserve and restore life satisfaction. However, research on these behaviours, particularly in older adults, is limited.
Objective: This study explored nature-based self-care in ageing population, focusing on attitude-behaviour gaps and associations with life satisfaction.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 210 participants aged 55–76 years (91% women, 9% men) assessed their self-care attitudes and behaviours using the Nature-Based Self-Care Scale (NB-SCS) and measured life satisfaction. The NB-SCS consists of separate attitude and behaviour sections, each covering various nature-based activities grouped into subscales.
Results: Participants generally held positive attitudes toward nature-based self-care but reported lower engagement levels. Significant gaps between attitudes and behaviours were found across subscales, with the Wilcoxon test confirming the disparity. Low-to-moderate correlations were observed between nature-based self-care and life satisfaction (r = .335 and r = .341, p < .001).
Conclusion: While valued, nature-based self-care practices are underutilized among older adults, suggesting that combining such strategies with broader self-care approaches could enhance well-being. Future research should aim to develop integrative models to bridge attitude-behaviour gaps and optimize life satisfaction.