Rate My Professor Katrina Bryant

Katrina Pōtiki Bryant serves as Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean (Māori) in the School of Physiotherapy at the University of Otago. She holds a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPhty) and Master of Physiotherapy (MPhty) from the University of Otago School of Physiotherapy. The title of her master's thesis is He Kiteka hauā I Murihiku: Perspectives of disability and wellness of hauā Māori living in Murihiku. Born in Dunedin with strong whakapapa to Ōtākou rūnanga, Bryant decided to pursue physiotherapy at age 14. She has practiced as a physiotherapist since graduating in 1994, including ten years as a paediatric physiotherapist in Tennessee and Connecticut, USA. Upon returning to New Zealand, she worked in Tauranga before settling in Dunedin to begin her academic career, focusing on Māori health initiatives.

Bryant's research specializations include Kaupapa Māori research in physiotherapy, Māori-centric rehabilitation and injury prevention in Māori communities, cultural safety, mātauaka Māori, data sovereignty, and curriculum development for Hauora Māori in undergraduate physiotherapy education. Her clinical interests encompass biomechanical analysis for physiotherapy, including posture, running gait, movement patterns for daily activities, morphological anthropology, and techniques to facilitate designed movements. She applies indigenous movement patterns and traditions into rehabilitation to engage indigenous populations and has created a network of international indigenous health researchers involved in indigenous movement for rehabilitation. In falls prevention, she leads the Taurite Tū research under Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou, emphasizing community strengthening and balance exercise programmes for ageing Māori. Key publications include Vlietstra et al. (2025) 'Physical activity to prevent older adult falls: An Aotearoa New Zealand approach'; Mottram, Bryant, and Hale (2024) 'Integrating environmental physiotherapy into New Zealand undergraduate education'; Dacombe-Bird et al. (2024) 'Musculoskeletal chest pain prevalence in emergency department presentations'; Bryant and Woodley et al. (2022) 'Management of women with pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain'; and Bryant et al. (2020) 'Māori pain experiences and culturally valid pain assessment tools for Māori'. She received the University of Otago Māori Early Career Award for Distinction in Research. Bryant is affiliated with the Centre for Health, Activity, and Rehabilitation Research and Tū Ora – Otago Falls Network.