Washington, DC-based is lending new meaning to “giving someone her walking papers.”
In 2011, the National Park Service conceptualized , an initiative to increase park visitation and good health. Zarr, a nature lover who had been reading about the theory of nature deficit disorder, .
In July 2013, Zarr became the foremost advocate of the program when he launched Park Rx, an NPS-helmed medical program through which doctors “prescribe” patients nature at . That means prescribing time outside鈥攁nd not just in any outdoor place, but in places patients are most likely to follow through on those prescriptions.
The that 12 percent of Americans don’t take prescribed medications, and the American Academy of Family Physicians found that . To get his young patients moving, , including the NPS, to map and rate 380 DC parks based on things like available activities, cleanliness, and accessibility to transit.聽
When Zarr and his colleagues prescribe nature, they match patients to the parks nearest them that offer certain activities. Zarr then prints out a prescription page with the park’s information and a map.聽
Making follow-through as easy as possible has worked, . Unity Health Care doctors have issued 550 prescriptions and saw an average increase of 22 minutes of activity per week in 400 patients.
Zarr believes the digital age will help keep patients accountable and give them incentive to manage their health. He’s in the process of developing a Park Rx mobile app that could regularly remind patients to get outside and keep their doctors abreast of their activities.聽
Prescribing nature might seem a bit wonky, but Zarr isn’t the first to try progressive outdoor treatments. This past March, the City of Boston and Boston Medical Center to get lower-income patients moving on more affordable transportation. A few months earlier, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children , a program through which doctors tell patients to join hiking trips and even plan their own outings. Successful patients earn rewards toward fun outdoor gear and trips.