RECETAS in Helsinki: Scientific Publications

• Effectiveness of nature-based group intervention on loneliness and health-related quality-of-life among lonely older adults living in assisted living facilities. Pitkala KH, Rautiainen L, Kautiainen H, Aalto U, Kolster A, Laakkonen ML, Partonen T, Roitto HM, Puntscher S, Rochau U, Siebert U, Bartova A, Holmerová I, Coll-Planas L, Litt JS, Strandberg TE, Jansson A. Age Ageing 2026; Feb 1;55(2) doi: 10.1093/ageing/afag009
  The main outcomes of the RECETAS intervention study. Compared to regular care in the assisted living facilities, older adults participating in the 9-week FiN intervention reported reduced loneliness at 3 months and improved sleep at 12 months. To conclude, the group intervention with nature contacts had favourable effects on loneliness and sleep amongst physically and cognitively frail, lonely older adults in ALFs.
• Effects of nature-based group intervention on cognition and nature connectedness among lonely older adults living in assisted living facilities – secondary analyses of an RCT. Pitkala KH, Aalto UL, Rautiainen LJ, Kautiainen H; Kolster A, Laakkonen ML; Partonen T, Roitto HM, Puntcher S, Rochau U, Siebert U; Bartova A, Holmerova I, Coll-Planas L; Litt JL; Strandberg TE; Jansson AH on behalf the RECETAS consortium. JAMDA 2026 Apr 10. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2026.106203
  In the secondary analyses, we found that the group intervention according to the Friends in Nature (FiN) method improved participants’ cognition and nature connectedness compared with controls.
• Feasibility and baseline findings of the nature-based social intervention “Friends in nature” in a randomised controlled trial among lonely people living in assisted living facilities in Finland within theRECETAS European project. Pitkala KH, Rautiainen L, Aalto U, Kolster A, Jansson A ym. BMC Geriatrics 2024 Oct 7;24(1):812. doi: 10.1186/s12877-024-05408-0.
  This article describes the intervention, recruitment and participants’ baseline findings in detail.

Facility training and group training

The FiN nature-based group intervention described above can be implemented in assisted living facilities by training professionals to be facilitators of the FiN method. The trained facilitators are a core of the FiN intervention. This article details how the training of the international facilitators was done.

• Adapting and applying a group facilitator training model to support nature-based social interventions for alleviating loneliness in five countries. Pitkala KH, Rautiainen L, Aalto UL, Kolster A, Laakkonen ML, Lehtonen R; Roitto MA,Acurio D, Aquado MM, Bartova A, Buixassa LB, Coll-Planas L, Hill N, Cattaneo L, Garcia V, Mendex S, Novotna B, Nerkez, Litt JS, Strandberg TE, Jansson AH Educ Gerontol 2026;.

Life in Assisted Facilities – Wellbeing, loneliness and Nature Connection among older adults

As part of the recruitment process, potential participants (n=854) in 25 different assisted living facilities were interviewed through a structured survey. The articles listed below arouse from this material. They describe the wellbeing of older adults and their thoughts on nature-related topics in their current life.

• The social world of older adults in assisted living facilities: loneliness, social inactivity, and social isolation among residents without advanced dementia. Rautiainen LR, Jansson AH, Aalto UL, Kautiainen H, Kolster A, Laakkonen ML, Roitto HM, Strandberg TE, Litt JS, Carbo-Cardena A, Coll-Planas L; Pitkälä KH. Exp Gerontol. 2026 Mar doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2026.113119.
• The importance of nature and wishes for nature-based experiences among older adults in assisted living facilities. Kolster A, Rautiainen LR, Aalto UL, Jansson A, , Sachs AL, Litt JS, Masó-Aguado M, Pitkala KH. Gerontol Nurs 2025;63:300-306. doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2025.03.061.
• Happy by nature: Nature connection as a source of psychological wellbeing in assisted living facilities. Kolster A, Rautiainen L, Jansson A, Partonen T Litt JS, Masó-Aguado M Pitkälä KH: JAMDA 2025; Sep;26(9) doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2025.105740.

• Läkkäät ovat tyytyväisiä palveluasumispaikkaansa – mitkä tekijät ovat siihen yhteydessä? Aalto UL, Jansson A, Rautiainen L, Kolster A, Partonen T, Strandberg T, Pitkälä KH. ( hyväksytty julkaistavaksi Gerontologia-lehteen)
• Luontoyhteys iäkkäiden ihmisten kuntoutumisen tukena ympäri- vuorokautisessa palveluasumisessa. Rautiainen L, Jansson A, Pitkälä K, Aalto U, Kolster A. Kuntoutus 2025.
• Naturbaserade interventioner för psykiskt välbefinnande Finska Läkaresällskapets handlingar 2/2024
  RECETAS-projekti selvittää luontoelämysten vaikutuksia ympärivuorokautisessa hoidossa asuvien iäkkäiden ihmisten yksinäisyyteen. Gerontologia 2022;(2):199-203. Jansson A, Rautiainen L, Kolster A, Aalto U, Partonen T, Pitkälä K.
• Luontoperustainen hoito Suomen perusterveydenhuollossa. Kolster, A. (2024). Yleislääkäri, 39(4), 1316.

• Kolster, A. (2026). Supporting health and wellbeing through nature-based interventions in primary care.

• Knuutila M, Lehti T, Karppinen H, Kautiainen H, Strandberg TE, Jansson A, Pitkala KH. Determinants of a sense of insecurity among home-dwelling older people. Scand J Public Health 2022 Oct 21 doi: 10.1177/14034948221131419.
• Pitkala KH, Immonen S, Öhman H. Always on vacation – Alcohol has become a geriatric problem. Eur Geriatric Med 2023 Feb;14(1):5-7. doi: 10.1007/s41999-022-00718-1.
• Lehti TE, Knuutila M, Öhman H, Kautiainen H, Karppinen H, Tilvis R, Strandberg TE, Pitkala KH. Changes in symptom burden from 2019 to 2021 among community- dwelling older adults in Finland. Age Ageing 2023; Jan 8;52(1):afac317. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afac317.
• Aalto U, Knuutila M, Lehti T, Ohman H, Roitto H, Kautiainen H, Tilvis RS, Strandberg TE, Pitkälä KH. Being actively engaged in life in old age – determinants, temporal trends and prognostic value. Aging Clin Exper Res 2023 Jul;35(7):1557-1563 doi: 10.1007/s40520-023-02440-9.
• Knuutila M, Jansson A, Rautiainen L, Pitkälä KH. Associations of use of smartphone and internet technologies with loneliness. J Am Geriatr Soc 2023;71:3329-31. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18546.
• Knuutila M, Rautiainen L, Lehti T, Karppinen H; Kautiainen H; Strandberg TE; Öhman H; Savikko N, Jansson AH, Pitkälä KH. Impact of COVID-19 on older people’s loneliness – findings from a longitudinal study between 2019 and 2021 among Finnish home-dwelling older adults. J Nutr Health Aging 2023;27(8):619-625. doi: 10.1007/s12603-023-1949-2.
• Jansson AH, Karisto A, Pitkälä KH. Listening to the voice of older people: dimensions of loneliness in long-term care facilities. Ageing and Society. 2022:1-18. doi:10.1017/S0144686X21001975
• Aalto UL, Bonin-Guillaume S. Loneliness among older people exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. J Nutr Health Aging 2023;27(8):617-618 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-023-1968-z
• Kolster A; Heikkinen M, Pajunen A, Michos A, Wennman H, Partonen T. Targeted health promotion with guided nature walks or group exercise: a controlled trial in primary care doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1208858. eCollection 2023
• Sieber C, Petrovic M, Masud T, Benetos A, Martin FC, Maggi S, Strandberg TE. A European perspective on the challenges of healthcare for older adults. Eur Geriatr Med 2024 Jan 9 doi: 10.1007/s41999-023-00913-8
• Roitto HM, Aalto UL, Öhman H, Saarela RKT, Kautiainen H, Salminen K, Pitkälä KH. Association of medication use with falls and mortality among long-term care residents: a longitudinal cohort study. BMC Geriatr. 2023 Jun 19;23(1):375 doi: 10.1186/s12877-023-04096-6.
• Pitkälä KH, Ohman H, Strandberg TE, Tilvis RS. Secular trends in frailty among community-dwelling 75-95+-year-old cohorts over three decades in Helsinki, Finland. Age Ageing. 2024 Aug 6;53(8):afae172. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afae172.
• Rautiainen L, Jansson A, Kautiainen H, Pitkälä K. Comparing loneliness, social inactivity, and social isolation – associations with health-related quality of life and mortality among home-dwelling older adults. Gerontology 2024;70(10):1103-1112 doi: 10.1159/000540345. Epub 2024 Aug 16.
• Izquierdo M, de Souto Barreto P, AraiH, Bischoff- Ferrari H, Cadore EI, Cesari M, Chen LK,et al. PitkäläKH et al. , Global Consensus on Optimal Exercise Recommendations for Enhancing Healthy Longevity in Older Adults (ICFRS). Aging Clin Exper Res Jan;29(1):100401 doi: 10.1016/j.jnha.2024.100401.
• PuranenT, Hiltunen K, Roitto HM, Pitkälä KH, Mäntylä P, Saarela R. Association of oral frailty with falls in long-term care residents. Eur Geriatr Med 2024 Feb;16(1):191-195. doi: 10.1007/s41999-024-01088-6. Epub 2024 Nov 6.
• Muhl C, Mulligan K, Giurca BC, Polley MJ, Bloch G, Nowak DA, Osborn-Forde C, Hsiung S, Lee KH, Herrmann WJ, Baker JR, Stokes-Lampard DHJ, Everington SS, Dixon M, Wachsmuth I, Figueiredo C, Skjerning HT, Rojatz D, Chen YD, Heijnders ML, Wallace C, Howarth M, Watanabe D, Bertotti M,
• Jansson AH, Althini S, Holzinger F, Dooler DG, Brand S, Anfilogoff TJ, Fancourt D, Nelson MLA, Tierney S, Leitch A, Nam HK, Card KG, Hayes D, Slade S, Essam MA, Palmer GA, Welch VA, Robinson D, Hilsgen L, Taylor N, Nielsen RØ, Vidovic D, McDaid EM, Hoffmeister LV, Bonehill J, Siegel A, Bártová A, Acurio-Páez D, Mendive JM, Husk K. Building common understanding: seeking consensus and defining social prescribing across contexts – a collective commentary on a Delphi study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 Oct 24;24(1):1280. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11603-x
• Kursi, M., Ylimaa, T., & Jansson, A. (2022). Viitottu yksinäisyys: selvitys viittomakielisten iäkkäiden ihmisten yksinäisyydestä Ystäväpiiri-toiminnan kehittämiseksi. Gerontologia, 36(2), 227–230. https://doi.org/10.23989/gerontologia.116652
• Knuutila MT, Rautiainen L, Aalto UL, Lehti TE, Karppinen H, Kautiainen H, Strandberg TE, Öhman H, Savikko NM, Jansson AH, Pitkälä KH. Changes in Prevalence of Loneliness Among Home-dwelling Older Adults Over Three Decades, and Associated Factors. Exper Gerontol 2025 Aug;207 doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2025.112790
• Puntscher S, Stojkov I, Arvandi M, Kühne F, Conrads-Frank A, Papon V, Schmid D, Jahn B, Suzumura EA, Kimberlee R, Jones M, Pitkälä KH, Jansson AH, Litt JS, Siebert U, Rochau U. Systematic literature review of economic studies on nature-based social prescribing for health improvement. BMC Prim Care. 2026 Mar 14;27(1):150. doi: 10.1186/s12875-026-03258-w.
• Anu H Jansson, Maria Kursi, Kaisu H Pitkälä, Timo Strandberg, Laura Rautiainen, Tarja Ylimaa, Experiences of loneliness among older deaf adults who use sign language, The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 2025; https://doi.org/10.1093/jdsade/enaf070
• Jansson, A. (2025). Ikääntyneiden kuntoutumisen tukeminen on arvovalinta ja investointi meidän kaikkien tulevaisuuteen. Kuntoutus, 48(4), 3-5. https://doi.org/10.37451/kuntoutus.178438
• Jansson, A. (2026). Satsaukset ikääntyneiden kuntoutumiseen kannattelevat pitkäikäisyyden yhteiskuntaa. Kuntoutus, 49(1), 3-4. https://journal.fi/kuntoutus/article/view/180702