Stina Rutberg

About me

About Me

I am a Professor in Physiotherapy and Healthpromotion. My research focuses on how we can create societies that support health, participation, and sustainability – with a particular emphasis on active and independent mobility among children and youth. By exploring and influencing social norms and structural conditions, I aim to expand children’s freedom of movement in everyday life.

Since graduating as a physiotherapist in 1992, I have gained broad experience in clinical practice, entrepreneurship, and academia. Since 2003, I have been based at Luleå University of Technology. Besides being head of subject, I am also a member of the university’s Academic Quality Council and are the leader of the Acadamy of Future Health. I have extensive teaching experience at undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels – in both theoretical and practical courses – and have developed several curricula and teaching materials in my fields of expertise.

I am co-founder and lead researcher of Active School Travel, a multidisciplinary research program aimed at promoting children's physical activity, independence, and traffic safety. The project is carried out in close collaboration with schools, municipalities, public authorities, and international research partners. Our work has resulted in, among other things, a national recommendation for active school travel (developed in cooperation with the Public Health Agency of Sweden and the Swedish Transport Administration), a widely distributed teacher resource via Generation Pep, and significant media and policy impact.

Beyond this, I have conducted research in related areas such as participation in elder care, digital behavior change interventions, and cross-sector initiatives to support well-being in schools. My doctoral thesis explored the lived experience of migraine and physical therapy, providing me with a strong foundation in qualitative research methodology.

My ongoing research includes the development of instruments to measure social norms around children's mobility, behavioral design of child-friendly urban environments, and the role of policy and urban planning in promoting active everyday movement. Many of my projects involve international collaborations across Europe and the United States and are grounded in strong partnerships between academia and society.

I have been awarded substantial national and European research funding, currently serve as principal investigator on several projects, and have an extensive publication record, including scientific and popular science contributions.

I am driven by the conviction that research should not only describe the world – it should help change it. For me, this means elevating children’s perspectives, challenging ingrained norms, and contributing to structures that enable health, equity, and sustainable development.