Johanna Gustavsson

My research examines societal risk, with a special interest in injury prevention and health promotion, with a primary focus on ageing populations. I evaluate real-world interventions and environments—how they work, for whom, and under what conditions—with particular interest in outcomes such as fall incidence, injury severity, mental health, suicide prevention, and equity impacts. A central strand has been fall and injury prevention in residential care, including studies of impact-absorbing flooring and other environmental modifications. This work investigates whether such measures can reduce injury risk without increasing falls, and how they affect residents’ lived environment and staff working conditions. Methodologically, I use pragmatic trials, mixed‑methods designs, and implementation/effectiveness evaluations, combining quantitative outcome measurement with qualitative insights to understand mechanisms and context.

Beyond the care home setting, I’ve studied winter slip-and-injury prevention and the effects of municipal ice-cleat distribution programs on use, injuries, and cost-effectiveness, with a view to optimising age targeting and program design https://www.kau.se/csr/forskning/pagaende-forskning-vid-csr/implementering-effekter-och-kostnadseffektivitet-kommunala. I also investigate how older adults navigate crises. During the COVID‑19 pandemic, my work explored mental health, coping strategies and adherence to public‑health recommendations over time https://www.kau.se/csr/forskning/forskningsprojekt/effektivare-atgarder-genom-okad-forstaelse-den-aldres-syn-pa-risker. Building on those findings, we did a pragmatic randomised study comparing different ways of promoting and maintaining physical activity in later life—via digital training videos versus group‑based exercise—while tracking activity levels, health outcomes and participant experiences https://www.kau.se/csr/forskning/forskningsprojekt/sund-senior-livskvalitet-och-fysisk-aktivitet-hos-aldre. In a project involving seven europeean contriees we develop and evaluate educational efforts for suicide prevention targeting university students. Suicide prevention is lacking in university education, and the project examines how it can be enhanced and integrated into higher education curricula https://www.sola. kau.se/eduere 

A second cluster of interests addresses safety in everyday environments. I evaluate targeted fire safety strategies for older adults living at home and develop indicators that broaden traffic safety monitoring to include vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians and cyclists. In public mental health, I’ve led an evaluation of regional stimulus funding for suicide prevention to understand how investments translate into strengthened prevention capacities and measurable improvements.

Two longer-horizon programmes extend this work. In GeoTIME, we work on geographically targeted public health interventions that combine area-level demographics with spatially segmented health data to match preventive strategies to local needs better. In the project INTEFF, we examine the evidence base for integrated, effective risk management in interconnected public systems, looking at how methods originating in tightly bounded technical domains can—and cannot—be translated into complex societal contexts.

My research also addresses climate-related vulnerability and health. Through the BASCHER network https://www.kau.se/bascher-network, I study how climate change and extreme weather affect physical and mental health, from systematic reviews to field data collection in highly exposed regions, and I’ve participated in developing vulnerability indices adapted to Swedish conditions. 

Across the projects, my overarching aim is to generate actionable evidence that reduces injuries, strengthens mental and physical health, and narrows health inequalities for older adults and other at-risk groups—whether in everyday life or under crisis pressures—by advancing interventions that are both effective and feasible in real-world practice.

I am teaching at the MASTERS program Risk Management in society. https://www.kau.se/utbildning/program-och-kurser/program/SARHS