Rate My Professor Oka Sanerivi

Dr. Oka Sanerivi, a Samoan-Tongan physiotherapist and researcher, is affiliated with the University of Otago's School of Physiotherapy in the Division of Health Sciences. He completed his Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPhty) in 2010 and Bachelor of Science in 2007 at the University of Otago, pursued a Master of Physiotherapy in 2020, and earned his PhD in 2025 with the thesis 'Culturally responsive Physiotherapy approaches to working with Pacific families,' supervised primarily by Professor Leigh Hale. This achievement made him the first Pacific person to graduate with a PhD in Physiotherapy from Otago. His research specializes in paediatrics, Pacific health, and culturally safe practices, integrating Samoan cultural knowledge—such as from elders and taulāsea—into physiotherapy to counter Eurocentric approaches. Experiences like leading physiotherapy efforts during Samoa's 2019 measles outbreak informed his development of a healthcare model inspired by the Samoan taualuga dance.

Sanerivi's career includes clinical practice in Gisborne, serving as Pacific Clinical Research Training Fellow funded by the Health Research Council, and current role as Senior Research Fellow at Mātai Medical Research Institute and University of Otago. He has garnered awards such as the Pacific Clinical Research Training Fellowship (2022), Emerging Scholar Award from the Oceanic Comparative and International Educational Society (2022), Pacific Health Masters Career Development Award (2020), and Physiotherapy New Zealand Paediatric Special Interest Group Professional Development Award (2021). Key publications encompass 'Uo mo aso uma, a o uso mo aso vale: Lessons from Aotearoa Physiotherapists Responding to Disasters' (2022, New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy), 'Perceptions of Pasifika Caregivers on a Pacific Community Playgroup and implications for paediatric physiotherapists' (2022), and 'Holistic health for Pacific seniors from a weekly group physiotherapy class' (2023). He has presented extensively at events including World Physiotherapy Congress and serves as Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Physiotherapy Board, with his landmark off-campus PhD defence at the Samoan High Commission highlighting community impact.