Forests and Human Health: Effects on Acute and Chronic Illness, and Public Health
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Forestry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2025 | Viewed by 1499
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Forests and spending time in green spaces are a new focus in health promotion. Health promotion may be a long-term or short-term goal in terms of helping people with chronic illnesses or creating opportunities for relaxation and healing affecting acute illnesses, respectively. Forests are composed of forest aerosols and visual experiences and allow the participant to “bathe” in the environment (known as Shinrin-Yoku or forest bathing), which can affect both chronic and acute health outcomes. The vast majority of research and review articles are related to how forests affect healthy people. A research agenda published in 2017 includes several areas of focus for advancing research related to green spaces and forests. There is a lack of research about how forests affect those who are not healthy. Health care providers seek to use forest or "park prescription" that may include exercise, although this may not be helpful for people with chronic illness due to the exercise component. The literature related to forest exposure and chronic or acute illness is limited, specifically how forests influence chronic and acute illness, thereby impacting public health.
In this Special Issue of Forests, we invite submissions that examine the impact that forests and green spaces have on people with chronic and acute illnesses throughout their lives, advancing our knowledge in this area.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Chronic pain;
- Depression, anxiety, and stress;
- Diabetes and other cardiac risk factors;
- Immune system alterations;
- Cancer.
Dr. Amy Miner Ross
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- forests
- greenspaces
- forest bathing
- Shinrin-Yoku
- simulated forest immersion
- chronic illness
- acute illness
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
