Outdoor Swimming as a​ Nature Based Intervention for Depression (OUTSIDE 2)

Summary

Many people say outdoor swimming improves their mental health. There has been some research showing outdoor swimming helps people with depression, but not enough to say for certain. In this study, Sponsored by the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, we want to offer an outdoor swimming course to adults with depression to see if it can help them, and to give us information about who and how it might help.

If they are interested, potential participants will then submit their details into a specially designed website and a research assistant will call them back to discuss taking part. Study participants will either go on an 8-session outdoor swimming course run by experienced coaches, alongside their usual care (for example talking therapies and/or medications) or have their usual care only; this will be decided at random by a computer programme. The usual care only group will be offered the swimming course at the end of the study. All participants will fill out questionnaires on 3 separate occasions, which ask about their symptoms of depression, anxiety, quality of life and use of health care services. This information will help to track changes in symptoms of depression and anxiety and health care use. We will also ask participants about their experience of the swim courses.

The outdoor swim course has the potential to lift the mood of the participants and reduce symptoms of depression. It also aims to build confidence and water safety skills, and support participants to feel more confident and competent in and around water, as well as empowering people to be an active participant in their own recovery.