Rate My Professor Donna Smith

Donna Smith serves as a Senior Professional Practice Fellow and International Student Support in the School of Physiotherapy, part of the Faculty of Health Professional Programmes in the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago. She holds a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPhty) with distinction and a Postgraduate Certificate in Health Sciences (PGCertHealSc) focused on child health. With professional experience as a paediatric physiotherapist in hospital and community environments in Aotearoa New Zealand and the United Kingdom, Smith also draws from personal experience as the mother of two preterm children. She is a certified Babywearing Consultant via Slingababy NZ, volunteers at the Ōtepoti Dunedin Carrier Library, and facilitates support for whānau through developmental playgroups. Her teaching contributions include supervising third-year physiotherapy students clinically on the acute medical ward at Dunedin Hospital and delivering undergraduate lectures in paediatric physiotherapy. Additionally, she leads or supports community programs like We-Play developmental playgroup and U Move Youth, a student-led activity group for children with movement challenges.

As a PhD candidate in the Centre for Health, Activity, and Rehabilitation Research (CHARR) at the University of Otago, Donna Smith's thesis explores "Weaving safety and support: Empowering whānau and perinatal care providers in preterm babywearing journeys," under the supervision of Dr. Meredith Perry, Lizz Carrington, and Bernadette Jones. Her research specializations include paediatric physiotherapy, developmental care, babywearing, and community empowerment. Key publications co-authored by Smith feature "The effectiveness of play as an intervention using International Classification of Functioning outcome measures for children with disabilities – a systematic review and meta-synthesis" in Disability & Rehabilitation (2024), "Perceptions of Pasifika caregivers on a Pacific community playground and implications for paediatric physiotherapists" in the New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy (2022), and "Lessons Māori led early childhood centres can share to improve paediatric health service: Perceptions of caregivers of Māori children attending Māori centred childcare" (2022). She has presented on inductive teaching methods in physiotherapy at the University of Otago Learning and Teaching Symposium (2025). Smith contributes to professional committees including the Paediatric Special Interest Group of Physiotherapy New Zealand, the Child Development and Disability Network of the Paediatric Society of New Zealand, and the Carosika Collaborative for preterm birth experiences.