Rate My Professor Livia Fernandes

Livia Fernandes serves as an Assistant Research Fellow and PhD candidate in the Rehabilitation Teaching and Research Unit within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago, Wellington, part of the Health Sciences Division. A qualified physiotherapist, she earned her Master of Science from Universidade Cidade de São Paulo in Brazil. Since 2023, her doctoral research under the supervision of Hem Devan, Jean Hay-Smith, Cheryl Davies, and Chrys Jaye has centered on understanding chronic mamae (pain) experienced by Māori whānau. Employing observation and arts-based methods, this work aims to gain insights into the meaning-making processes surrounding pain in this cultural context, promoting culturally responsive pain management strategies.

With research interests spanning telerehabilitation, chronic musculoskeletal pain, pain science education, eHealth literacy, implementation of health interventions, patient experiences with osteoarthritis and chronic pain, and telehealth in low- and middle-income countries, Fernandes has made notable contributions to these fields. Her publications include “We do not stop being Indigenous when we are in pain”: An integrative review of the lived experiences of chronic pain among Indigenous peoples (2025), “‘Removing a Blindfold’: Perspectives of Physical Therapists After Completing the PEAK-Portuguese E-Learning Course” (2025), “Improved not only the osteoarthritis but also general health”: A qualitative study on patient experiences with the PEAK-Portuguese e-learning course for knee osteoarthritis self-management (2025), “Implementation of an online pain science education for chronic musculoskeletal pain in Brazilian public health system: protocol for a hybrid type III randomised controlled trial with economic evaluation” (2023), “The state of the art in telerehabilitation for musculoskeletal conditions” (2023), “Physical therapists and public perceptions of telerehabilitation: An online open survey on acceptability, preferences, and needs” (2022), and “Telehealth in low- and middle-income countries: Bridging the gap or exposing health disparities?” (2021). Amassing over 460 citations across 23 publications, her scholarship highlights the role of digital tools and qualitative approaches in addressing pain disparities among Indigenous and underserved populations.