My recent Research Explorations

Does the effectiveness of wellbeing activities depend on the environment where they are practised?

What are the factors impacting the effectiveness of Positive Psychology Interventions?

Does quality of nature impact our wellbeing?

How can we use nature-based interventions to boost our psychological wellbeing?

Books soon to be published

Writing fuels my soul—it’s my absolute passion! I can’t imagine a day without it. Whether it’s writing an academic paper, a book, or contributing to a popular newspaper, you’ll find me tapping my keyboard every day and enjoying every minute of it. Routledge is my go-to publisher, and I have the privilege of working with the fantastic Lucy Kennedy, an editor extraordinaire, whose love for the same genre of books as mine makes our collaboration an absolute joy. Here’s a glimpse of some of my books soon to be published:

• “Routledge International Handbook of Wellbeing Arts” – Edited by Andrea Giraldez-Hayes, Mandy Seligman, & Jolanta Burke; to be published by Routledge in autumn 2025
• “Frontiers of Wellbeing Science: Interdisciplinary perspectives and applications” – Written by Aaron Jarden, Jolanta Burke, Tayyab Rashid, & Roger Bretherton; to be published by Routledge in spring 2026
• “A to Z guide to Positive Health” – written by Jolanta Burke and Liana Lianov, to be published by Routledge in spring 2026

Check out some of my published books

Theme 1: Positive Health

I’m super passionate about Positive Health—it’s a new field of research and practice that my colleagues at RCSI and I have pioneered, blending the insights of positive psychology and lifestyle medicine (mind and body). While positive psychology delves into wellbeing and optimal human functioning, lifestyle medicine focuses on lifestyle choices that prevent or reduce the impact of non-communicable diseases (e.g. cancer, heart disease, strokes). In Positive Health, we view health not as the absence of illness but as a state of overall wellbeing. It’s about understanding the factors that drive disease and prioritising the processes that support good health and happiness. This approach sees the body and mind as interconnected, offering both research and strategies for individuals to thrive, regardless of their physical health status. Here are some of the books I had a pleasure contributing to with my colleagues.

Theme 2: Application of Positive Psychology

From where I stand, research makes little sense unless it can be used in our daily lives. This is especially true when it comes to wellbeing research. After all, who isn’t trying to live their best life? As a researcher and writer, my main focus is all about giving people the tools and knowledge to make that happen. Figuring out life’s twists and turns while boosting our overall happiness is what gets me fired up and ready to go. So, I’ve thrown myself into writing a bunch of books that break down the nitty-gritty of research into practical tools on how to improve health and wellbeing. Whether you want to improve your own life or the lives of your patients, students or your clients, some of these books could be very useful for you. The first couple of books help you apply positive psychology in education; the others help you apply it in leadership.

Theme 3: Research Methods

Research is my bread and butter—it’s what I live and breathe every day, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve got this incredible curiosity, especially when it comes to the science of wellbeing, which I’ve been immersing myself in for years. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with this burning research question, and I just can’t resist diving into it the first thing in the morning.

I love research. I’m that person who reads a research methods book and gets totally jazzed about it. So, you can imagine my excitement when my colleague and I wrote a couple of books on research methods and we sent them out to one of the big-name authors in the research world, who told us that our books were page-turners and he loved them. It was a career highlight for me.

Working with Dr Majella Dempsey, we made sure our books were super practical guides to research. Our aim was to demystify research and make it accessible to the students we teach every day. And judging by the feedback we’ve got from them, I’d say we did well.

So, if you’re keen to get to grips with what research is all about and how to do it for your bachelor’s and master’s degree, check out our books.

My research

Funded Research

We feel incredibly fortunate to have received generous research funding from organisations like EU Interreg, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the Irish Research Council (IRC), the Health Research Board (HRB), Enterprise Ireland (EI), or the EU Erasmus+ KA 220 programme. This funding has opened up opportunities for us to delve into topics that deepen our understanding of wellbeing.

Our investigations have taken various forms, from conducting surveys and interviews to carrying out physiological assessments like testing Heart Rate Variability to measure stress levels or using fEEG to study brain waves and their connection to nature’s impact on wellbeing.

We’re truly grateful to our funders for their support, and we’re dedicated to working tirelessly each day to contribute meaningfully to research. Please explore my recent projects in the “Research” tab.

Pro bono Research

Every year, I love teaming up with a charitable organisation and putting my research skills to good use. Lately, I’ve been partnering with the wonderful people at Variety Charity, who do amazing work supporting children with disabilities. Recently, they surprised me with “The Variety Ireland Humanitarian Award 2024,” recognising the positive impact of my pro bono research.

Thanks to this research, Variety Charity has secured a whopping €3 million in funding over the next few years from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth and the Department of Transport in Ireland. This funding is going to make a huge difference, allowing the charity to expand its Recycle Mobility Programme beyond Ireland to places like the UK and the US.

The Recycle Mobility Programme is really special—it’s all about customising trikes to fit the specific needs of each child with a disability. This tailored approach makes a world of difference, giving these children the chance to join in outdoor activities with their siblings and feel truly included. Our research has shown just how much of a game-changer these adapted trikes are for the children and their families’ wellbeing, highlighting the incredible impact of our combined efforts.

Check out some of my popular articles

Below are some of my recent articles written for the Conversation.

Follow me on Instagram & LinkedIn

Social media is not my forte but I try very hard to share all the news from my research team and at the Centre for Positive Health Sciences. Please help us grow by following my Instagram account and LinkedIn

@JolantaBurke