Anna Maria Palsdottir

Anna María Pálsdóttir is an associate professor and senior lecturer,  at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) at the dep. People and Society. She is a trained horticulturist by profession and holds a BSc in biology & horticulture sciences as well as an MSc and a PhD in landscape planning and environmental psychology.

She works on conceptual development and scientific evaluation of nature-based and nature-assisted interventions conducted in various outdoor environments for different target groups. She also conducts research on the content and design of sustainable health-promoting outdoor environments for human health and well-being. The research is conducted in close collaboration with national and international universities, governmental offices and stakeholders.

New publications:

Kristjánsdóttir, H. L., Sigurðardóttir, S., & Pálsdóttir, A. M. (2026). Meaningful and psychologically rewarding nature-assisted occupations – A feasibility study for improving alternatives in vocational rehabilitation in Iceland. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 32(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/11038128.2026.2633053

O’Brien, L.; Dolling, A.; Hedblom, M.; Pálsdóttir, A.M. (2025). A Nature-Based Vocational Training Programme for Migrants and Swedes: Impacts on the Five Ways to Wellbeing. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 22, 1252. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22081252  

Taufer, F., Pálsdóttir, A.M. & Hedblom, M. (2025). Psychological and physiological responses to smells from nature—potential health benefits for urban dwellers. npj Urban Sustain 5, 80. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-025-00274-0

Gudmundsson, M., Pálsdóttir, A. M., Bejerholm, U., & Argentzell, E. (2025). Outcomes on health, recovery and activity level for mental health service users attending a novel nature-based intervention: a prospective study. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 79(3), 240–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039488.2025.2483736

Eklund, M., Pálsdóttir, A. M., Pessah-Rasmussen, H., & Bellosta-López, P. (2025). Psychometric properties of the occupational value with pre-defined items in stroke patients. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 32(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/11038128.2025.2597214

Matusiak, B., Sarey Khanie, M., Moscoso, C., Pálsdóttir, A. M., Appelt, S., Hemauer, C., … Sokol, N. (2025). View Quality Assessments: A Pilot Study of Field Methods. LEUKOS, 21(4), 443–463. https://doi.org/10.1080/15502724.2024.2443188

Axelsson L, Arvidsson Segerkvist K, Pálsdóttir AM, Ljung M (2025), "The learning processes among employees in Swedish milk production: potentials to implement reflective learning". Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 37 No. 9 pp. 75–89, doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-11-2024-0257

All other publications: | SLU publication database (SLUpub)