Wald | Gesund aims to develop low-threshold forest therapy services to promote health for various patient groups and the ageing general population. This includes the Wald | Medizin and Wald | Psyche sub-projects, carried out by Greifswald University Medicine and the University of Greifswald.
The research project focuses on the mutual health influences of people and forests as well as the mechanisms of action of various therapy components. In addition, the researchers want to find out how forest therapy interacts with the personal needs and preferences of the users and what medium and long-term effects can be observed.
The focus is on the health-promoting potential of the forest for humans and its role in maintaining the health of the forest in the sense of the One Health approach. In participatory workshops, various stakeholders and interest groups work together to develop how knowledge transfer, sensory experience and (health) behavior can be promoted and implemented in the concept of the “Healthy Forest”. In the future, projects and offers will be developed and implemented in order to establish the “healthy forest” as a central location for health promotion in the region.
Numerous studies show that a mindful, conscious walk in the forest can have a positive short-term effect on numerous physiological health indicators and alleviate depression. Even though research into nature-based methods has been steadily increasing for years, it is comparatively new in Europe.
The research project is part of the T!Raum initiative “One Health Region Vorpommern”. The head of the study is Prof. Susanne Wurm from the Institute for Community Medicine – Department of Prevention and Social Medicine at the University Medical Center Greifswald.
Further information on the project:
