Patrik Grahn

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences | SLU · Department of People and Society

Definition: Since the 19th century, urban planning has largely been guided by ambitions to improve the population's wellbeing and living conditions. Parks and green areas have played a significant role in this work. However, the confidence in the function of green areas, and thus the motives for creating urban parks and green open spaces, have shif...

Research on restorative environments has suggested green facades as a promising model for natural spaces in urban and densely populated areas. However, the impact of architectural design attributes of green building facades on perceived restoration potential is insufficiently researched. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship b...

This study presents an investigation of how different arrangements of vegetation, regarding spatial containment and density, affect the experience of safety in urban parks. A discrete choice experiment was used to obtain replies from a sample of 300 visitors to urban parks in Mashhad, Iran. Face-to-face surveys were conducted. Visitors randomly sel...

In times of social and ecological crises, such as COVID-19 with lockdowns and implementing the impact of climate change, mental health degrades. Being outdoors in nature can be health-promoting, can decrease depression, and increase mental well-being. This pilot study investigated the relationships between nature-based therapy, mental health, and i...

Alnarp Rehabilitation Garden has been used to investigate how the design can support interventions regarding different user groups, such as rehabilitation from stress-related mental illness; stroke; Parkinson's disease; dementia and memory disorders; and to facilitate integration and workplace introduction for refugees from war-torn areas. It is im...

This case study shows how an 8-year-old boy with autism and mild intellectual disability underwent positive psychological development in terms of play, social communication, and mentalization during a year and a half of group-based therapy using COMSI®-(COMmunication and Social Interaction). This eclectic treatment has a relational approach and is...

To be able to study the effects and complexity of multiple perceived outdoor environment characteristics on health and well-being, and reduce single-source bias, we compiled a database based on the available resources in Scania, southern Sweden, 2008–2019, including area-aggregated assessments of 24 characteristics: eight Perceived Sensory Dimensio...

A significant majority of the literature on natural environments and urban green spaces justifies the preferences that people have for natural environments using four predictors defined by Kaplan’s preference matrix theory, namely coherence, legibility, complexity, and mystery. However, there are no studies implicitly focusing on the visual attribu...

Indikatorer för hälsopromoverande urbana grönområden Exempel på en s.k. friskrivnings rapport utan logotyp men med författarnamn

Background and purpose In Denmark attractive rehabilitation offers for men are lacking. Consequently, more men than women say no to participate in and more often drop out of rehabilitation programs. Therefore, a nature-based rehabilitation program called the ‘Wildman Programme’ has been designed to men. The ‘Wildman Programme’ combines nature exper...

Background: Stress-related mental illness is increasing worldwide and leading to long-term illness. Most of those affected are aged 30-50, so the need for rehabilitation and return to work for these patients is great. Research indicates that staying in nature can lead to stress recovery. The question is whether nature-based therapy can rehabilitate...

Men with health problems refuse to participate in rehabilitation programmes and drop out of healthcare offerings more often than women. Therefore, a nature-based rehabilitation programme was tailored specific to men with mental health problems, and long-term illnesses. The rehabilitation programme combines the use of nature, body, mind, and communi...

The importance of urban green areas to support people's health and wellbeing has been confirmed by many studies [1]. In addition to regulating functions regarding water, air, and climate, urban green spaces can also contribute through psychologically driven pathways to, e.g., aid restoration from stress and attention fatigue and to promote physical...

Ever more research results demonstrate that human health and wellbeing are positively affected by stays in and/or exposure to natural areas, which leads, among other things, to a reduction in high stress levels. However, according to the studies, these natural areas must meet certain qualities. The qualities that are considered to be most health pr...

Natural environments have been shown to promote health, and are, therefore, important for achieving social sustainability in cities. As cities grow and become denser, it is important to develop knowledge about the characteristics of natural environments that work to promote health. Perceived Sensory Dimensions (PSDs) is a tool that defines eight di...

Green spaces and infrastructures offer multiple ways to tackle challenges associated with increased urbanisation and densification. Greenspace aesthetics have long been pointed out as an important aspect to support human health and wellbeing. There is however a need for evidence-based approaches in order to aid practitioners, such as, e.g. landscap...

Do people classify nature in ways that can be described as archetypes? Could it be that these can be interpreted as health promotive? More and more researchers today suggest that archetypes can be used to analyze, describe, and develop green spaces. In parallel, an increasing number of research results since the 1980s have shown that human health a...

The importance of urban green areas to support people's health and wellbeing has been confirmed by many studies [1]. In addition to regulating functions regarding water, air, and climate, urban green spaces can also contribute through psychologically driven pathways to, e.g., aid restoration from stress and attention fatigue and to promote physical...

Many men have poor mental health and need help to recover. However, designing a rehabilitation intervention that appeals to men is challenging. This study protocol aims to describe the ‘Wildman Programme’, which will be a nature-based rehabilitation programme for men on long-term sick leave due to health problems such as stress, anxiety, depression...

Current trends in urbanisation present challenges connected to human health. In the Research and Innovation policy agenda on Nature-Based Solutions and Re-Naturing Cities, the European Union acknowledges the role nature can play in relation to these challenges. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls for green space interventions to address urban...

People with neurological disorders suffer from poor mobility, poor balance, fatigue, isolation and monotonous everyday activities. Studies show that equine-assisted interventions can improve their mobility and balance, but could these kinds of interventions also increase participants’ activity repertoire and self-assessed health, and reduce their f...

Nature-based interventions have been proposed to promote physical and mental health and give stress reduction. Little attention has been given to the potential of zoos for human health and wellbeing. A disadvantaged group in Sweden regarding access to nature are individuals with disabilities who consequently do not have the same access to these hea...

Animals are increasingly included in treatment for children with autism, and research has shown positive effects, such as increased social initiatives, decreased typical autistic behaviors, and decreased stress. However, there are still knowledge gaps, for example, on underlying mechanisms and effects from longer treatment duration. The purpose of...

In today's modern society, lifestyle-related diseases play an increasingly important role as the cause of bad health. Staying in and access to environments that contain natural elements such as forests, parks and gardens has been featured because of its potential to stimulating people's health and well-being. An independent research area has develo...

Fatigue is common after stroke and contributes to disability and impaired quality of life. Currently, there is insufficient evidence on the efficacy of any intervention for post-stroke fatigue. The aim of the study was to examine whether 10 weeks Nature-based rehabilitation (NRB) as add-on to standard care may improve post-stroke fatigue, perceived...

Dans la société actuelle, les maladies liées au mode de vie jouent un rôle de plus en plus important dans les causes de mauvaise santé. L’accès et le séjour dans des environnements qui contiennent des éléments naturels tels que les forêts, les parcs et les jardins ont attiré l’attention pour leur capacité à favoriser la santé et le bien-être humain...

Patients being treated for stress-related mental illness were observed during two summer programs in order to investigate the influence of multimodal nature-based therapy in a specially designed healing garden on patient recovery. The aim was to distinguish specific qualities, patterns and/or processes during the participants' stay in the healing g...

Among the more common explanatory theories for nature’s impact on health is the potential for stress recovery. Both epidemiological and experimental research have confirmed stress reducing effects of exposure to natural environments. As stress is a major risk factor for many common diseases, particularly mental disorders this indicates that nature...

This article investigates supportive environments and their essential qualities in the context of nature-based therapy (NBT) for individuals with stress-related mental disorders. After 12 weeks NBT at Alnarp Rehabilitation Garden, Sweden, a sample of fifty-nine former clients voluntarily participated in narrative interviews on supportive environmen...

The global burden of depression and stress-related mental disorders is substantial, and constitutes a major need for effective rehabilitation. Can nature-based rehabilitation help people return to work? Objective: To study if the length of a nature-based rehabilitation program affects the outcome with regard to return to work one year after the ons...

Today, urbanization presents a challenge to urban planning with regard to creating healthy living environments. The aim of this research is to gain further knowledge of the restorativeness of a best case urban and natural environment: that is a historic down town urban environment and forest environment located in an arboretum. The study has a cros...

In this study, we assess how the Scania Green Score (SGS5), and the five distinct perceived neighbourhood green dimensions within this area-aggregated index (1 km2 squares), is associated with self-reported physical activity and general health, and if perceived safety and social coherence has a moderating effect. Two independent surveys, both condu...

One of the biggest public health problems in Sweden is stress-related mental disorder. This is the most common cause for sick leave and the costs for society is estimated at 70 billion Swedisk kronor a year. It is about mental exhaustion and depression. The way back to work is often long and painful. Rehabilitation in natural settings is a new kind...

At! present, research within health promoting environments is dominated by a focus on the difference between the urban and the natural environment. However, little knowledge exists regarding which qualities within the natural environment promote restoration. The aim of the paper is to identify which qualities and perceived sensory dimensions (PSD)...

Research suggests that certain forest environments can contribute to lower stress levels in humans. This might be increasingly important to consider given the rising prevalence of stress-related diseases and illness absence. To make it feasible to plan for forest management strategies that take such restorative effects into account, it would seem t...

The research question addressed in the present paper is to what extent preferences for landscape affordances differ between people who have grown up in completely different cultures and landscapes. How universal are preferences for certain sensory dimensions? Two Master’s students at SLU Alnarp, who grew up in completely different landscapes (Huang...

The level of stress is high at the Karolinska Institute (KI), one of the world´s leading medical universities. A large body of research has shown that stays in or views of nature are good for peoples' health. Eight perceived sensory dimensions or characteristics – serene, nature, refuge, space, prospect, species-richness, social and culture – were...

Arbete som kräver mycket koncentration sker mer effektivt om arbetsplatsen har särskilt avstressande kvaliteter. Universitetsmiljöer är ofta trivsamma men samtidigt sker arbete under press och stress. Forskning visar att empatin minskar vid stress, men att bra grönska i arbetsmiljön ger trivsel, avstressning och samarbetsvilja. Grönskan förbättrar...

The level of stress is high at the Karolinska Institute (KI), one of the world´s leading medical universities. A large body of research has shown that stays in or views of nature are good for our health. Eight perceived sensory dimensions or characteristics – serene, wild, lush, space, common, pleasure garden, center/fest and culture – were elabora...

Restorative workplace, coordinated from SLU, a network of actors in construction, consultancy and real estate to develop opportunities for recovery, increased wellbeing and productivity through the use of improved environmental qualities. (Project time 2012-2017) So far was the availability of PSDs at very highly ranked universities and workplaces...

Allt fler personer har omfattats av etableringsuppdraget under de sen- aste åren. Bland de mottagna finns ett stort antal individer med traumatiska upplevelser och psykisk ohälsa. Inom ramen för uppdraget arbetslivsinriktad rehabilitering samarbetar Arbetsförmedlingen med Region Skåne och SLU utifrån individperspektivet men även det långsiktiga str...

Forskning har visat att vistelse i skogsmiljö kan ge människor rehabilitering och återhämtning från utmattningssyndrom och andra stressrelaterade psykiska sjukdomar. Denna studie genomfördes i tre skogsområden i Sverige: utanför Umeå, Stockholm och Malmö. Utifrån miljöpsykologiska parametrar visade det sig att upplevd rofylldhet, vildhet och rymd v...

Vi flyttar ihop i allt tätare städer för att öka våra kontaktmöjligheter, minska bilberoendet och behålla jordbruksmarken. Men förtätning kan samtidigt inkräkta på stadens grönområden. Dessa är viktiga inte bara där vi bor utan även i våra arbetsområden. Med utgångspunkt i såväl nationella som internationella exempel pekar professorerna Erik Skärbä...

p class="1Body">Since the 1960’s, public assessments of landscapes have often been carried out using photographic representations. How reliable and valid are these assessments compared with on-site observations? In the present study, participants have been asked to judge different areas in terms of a limited feature: the biodiversity of the area. D...

Green spaces are recognized for improving mental health, but what particular kind of nature is required is yet not elucidated. This study explores the effect of specific types of recreational nature qualities on mental health. Longitudinal data (1999/2000 and 2005) from a public health survey was distributed to a stratified sample (n = 24,945) of a...

Restorative outdoor qualities at workplaces promote increased well-being, cooperation and productivity Project Aim: Research has shown that restorative effects of nature decrease stress and increase empathy, cooperation, well-being and good health. Well-being promotes creativity and productivity, thereby profitability and export. In the project, ma...

Freezing of Gait (FOG) is a common condition in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). FOG entails suddenly experiencing difficulties moving or feeling that one’s feet are as glued to the ground. It is triggered, e.g., when passing through doorways. Earlier studies suggest that being in natural environments affects FOG in a positive way. Five subjec...

Research suggests that the outdoor environment is an important source of variety and change as well as health and well-being for nursing home residents. However, not every outdoor environment has the potential to be a positive resource in the life of older persons at nursing homes, and in this respect we need to study the particular design and cont...

The authors wish to make the following corrections to their paper published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health [1]: [...]

Since the 1980s, a number of studies have suggested that stays in and/or views of natural sites are good for people's health. However, all natural areas are not equally good: Some qualities have been identified as being particularly beneficial. Perceived Sensory Dimensions (PSDs) consist of eight different types of affordances in urban parks as wel...

Forests play an important role, contributing to human health and well-being as environments for recreation and rehabilitation. Stress has become a significant problem in modern societies, and the importance of forests as environments for stress relief has been recognized in recent years. To maintain and create forests for rehabilitation, considerat...

Fatigue is common after stroke and contributes to disability, impaired quality of life, and reduced work ability. Currently, there is no evidence-based intervention for post-stroke fatigue but idiopathic chronic fatigue and burnt-out syndromes may benefit from nature-based rehabilitation. The aim of NASTRU was to examine whether ten weeks of nature...

Fatigue is common after stroke and contributes to disability, impaired quality of life, and reduced work ability. Currently, there is no evidence-based intervention for post-stroke fatigue but idiopathic chronic fatigue and burnt-out syndromes may benefit from nature-based rehabilitation. The aim of NASTRU was to examine whether ten weeks of nature...

Fatigue is common after stroke and contributes to disability, impaired quality of life, and reduced work ability. Currently, there is no evidence-based intervention for post-stroke fatigue but idiopathic chronic fatigue and burnt-out syndromes may benefit from nature-based rehabilitation. The aim of NASTRU was to examine whether ten weeks of nature...

Fatigue is common after stroke and contributes to disability, impaired quality of life, and reduced work ability. Currently, there is no evidence-based intervention for post-stroke fatigue but idiopathic chronic fatigue and burnt-out syndromes may benefit from nature-based rehabilitation. The aim of NASTRU was to examine whether ten weeks of nature...

After a period of decrease, sick leave in Sweden due to psychiatric diagnoses is on the increase. The lack of established rehabilitation programmes for patients with stress-related mental disorders (SRMD) has opened up for the use of garden/nature in a multimodal rehabilitation context (Nature-Based Rehabilitation, NBR). Region Västra Götaland (VGR...

The report starts from the form of nature-based rehabilitation (NBR) which was developed in SLU Alnarp, and led to the Alnarp-method. How can this method be disseminated to rural businesses? The report presents a preliminary study regarding the possibility of creating NBR businesses and environments in the Swedish countryside. How should traditiona...

This article presents the first outline of a quality evaluation tool (QET) to be used in the process of designing outdoor environments in healthcare settings, e.g. healthcare gardens. Theory triangulation is used to integrate theories and evidence from selected research on people's health/wellbeing and the outdoor environment. The results first pre...

Attention is a basic cognitive function necessary in most daily activities. Beneficial effects on cognitive abilities after exposure to nature have been reported. To explore if relaxation indoors and in nature differently affect directed attention and physiological measures, 51 participants (39 women) were measured on directed attention with the Ne...

A previous study (n = 24,819) of semi-urban and rural areas in the Skåne region, southern Sweden, showed that people living in flats are dependent on having green space with several characteristics for different affordances close to their homes to be satisfied with their neighbourhood. The two studies presented in this paper focuses on the urban ar...

Natural capital is ultimately the base for economic, social and cultural sustainability. To tackle the increasing loss and fragmentation of habitats for wild life and humans in rural and urban landscapes there is a need to protect, manage and restore sufficient amounts of functional networks of representative land covers. Good examples on the Europ...

The model presented in this book focuses on how to design new and improve existing green spaces so they can offer certain recreational values. The experienced values, or perceived sensory dimensions (PSD), are preferred by people to different degrees depending on their state of mind. Used in an appropriate way, PSDs can help to improve the mental h...

Social values of forests are increasingly recognized as important objectives in forest management planning. For instance, forests contribute to human health and wellbeing by providing a suitable environment for recreation and rehabilitation. However, it remains a challenge to define and measure these values in terms of forest variables and to incor...

This paper presents findings from real life situations, a longitudinal single case study on the role of natural environments in nature-based rehabilitation (NBR) for individuals with stress-related mental disorders, at the Alnarp Rehabilitation Garden in Sweden. A sample of 43 former clients voluntarily participated in semi-structured interview, an...

Sick leave due to stress-related disorders is increasing in Sweden after a period of decrease. To avoid that individuals living under heavy stress develop more severe stress-related disorders, different stress management interventions are offered. Self-assessed health, burnout-scores and well-being are commonly used as outcome measures. Few studies...

Objective: To determine the effect of a nature-assisted rehabilitation programme in a group of patients with reactions to severe stress and/or mild to moderate depression. Changes in sick-leave status and healthcare consumption in these patients were compared with those in a matched population-based reference cohort (treatment as usual). Design: Re...