Last week the Physiopedia team were very much focused on sharing knowledge related to physiotherapy, rehabilitation and technology, with team members presenting at three different international conferences.

The Physiopedia mission is to improve access to physiotherapy and wider rehabilitation knowledge  everywhere in the world, which we do through the Physiopedia, Plus and workforce development activities. A crucial part of this is making sure that insights and knowledge that we have is disseminated through relevant knowledge translation channels and last week was a busy time for this, with team members presenting at three different conferences!

On 6–8 September the Second All-Ukrainian Congress on Physical Therapy was held in Lviv, Ukraine, hosting more than 400 physical therapists from all over the country alongside both Ukrainian and international experts on rehabilitation. As members of the organising committee, Physiopedia team members Tetiana Baryshok (Chairperson of the Board of the All-Ukrainian Association of Physical Therapists and head of the congress organising committee) and Kateryna Tymruk-Skoropad (strategic advisor for rehabilitation education development of the War Trauma Rehabilitation initiative) were both in attendance, alongside Physiopedia’s Olha Kovalchuk, Education and Workforce Development Consultant for Ukraine. The conference facilitated participants in sharing experiences and insights and marked an important step towards strengthening the professional rehabilitation community, enhancing skills and developing rehabilitation education in Ukraine. Physiopedia’s Jorge Rodríguez (Implementation Specialist and Translation Manager) was invited to present on artificial intelligence (AI) in physiotherapy and he shared with participants how AI is already transforming clinical decision-making, helping design management programmes and improving communication between professionals and patients – more on this coming soon.

Next up, Physiopedia co-Founders Rachael and Tony Lowe were invited to present at the Physioswiss Leadership Forum focussed on Quality in Physiotherapy on 13 September in Bern, Switzerland. This meeting was an excellent platform for the exchange and discussion of current developments and challenges in Physiotherapy, and Rachael and Tony presented on the use of AI in healthcare and particularly to share how the new Physiopedia AI Assistant is transforming rehabilitation in clinics, universities and healthcare organisations.

And to round up the week 9 Physiopedia team members attended the World Physiotherapy Africa Congress, hosted by The South African Society of Physiotherapy (SASP) on 12–15 September in Cape Town, South Africa. This congress was a platform for physiotherapy professionals from across the African continent to collaborate and share innovations and to share strategies for advancing physiotherapy in African contexts. The Physiopedia team took to the stage in force. Tarina Van der Stockt (Physiopedia Plus Education Director) took part in an engaging podium discussion on the integration of AI in physiotherapy and its potential to transform the field alongside Michel Landry (President of World Physiotherapy) and Johan Steyn (AI and Digitalisation Expert). They highlighted that as AI becomes more prevalent, clinical reasoning remains more important than ever and the judgment and expertise of physiotherapists are crucial in ensuring that patient care remains personalised and effective. A team from Uganda, including Herbert Omoding, Margaret Namatovu, Calvin Kisembo and Amon Nuwahereza (representing the USAID-funded ReLAB-HS actvity), presented their work implementing the IRETT (International Rehabilitation Education and Training Toolkit) to strengthen the rehabilitation workforce in Uganda. They discussed the implementation of three important tools: the Academic Program Reflection Tool, the Professionalisation and Regulation Reflection Tool and the Clinical Skills Training Tool – all seen as a great resource in addressing the gaps in education, regulation, and clinical practice, particularly in low-resource settings. More on this coming soon!

Sharing our learnings and knowledge to better support rehabilitation professionals around the world is at the very heart of what we do, and it is a real treat to get to meet up in person with friends and colleagues around the world. We will be sharing some of the presentations from these conferences in the coming days – check back soon to learn more!