Sofia Backåberg

I am a senior lecturer at the Department of Health and Caring Sciences, Linnaeus University, and programme coordinator for the international Health Science Master Programme.

Through my background as a Physiotherapist, I have a passion for human movements and how to use technology to create movement awareness, movement quality, physical activity and confidence to move, especially among older adults. In my PhD thesis (2016), I developed a model to support learning, awareness and development of individual movements with the support of video as a tool for feedback and reflection.

In 2020, I had the privilege to be a Post-doc Associate at the Faculty of Kinesiology, the University of Calgary in Canada, where I now have the position of Adjunct Assistant Professor.

Teaching

I am teaching, supervising and examining theses in the Nursing Program,  undergraduate and advanced level, as well as in the Health Science Master Programme in Health Sciences, where I am also course coordinator for two courses.

I have a great interest in experiential learning and creating learning opportunities that are engaging to facilitate creativity and reflection, such as the use of Forum Play. 

Research

I am involved in several multi-disciplinary research projects focusing on supporting older adult's overall health, independence and active living.

In the project Confidence in every step, we are using co-design to explore how digital tools can be developed and used in health care to engage older adults in self-care at home and to motivate healthy behaviour, such as functional mobility. Within this project, I am co-supervising the PhD student Susanna Strandberg and belong to the Resilient healthcare and patient activation group - The ReAction group at the Dept. of Health and Caring Sciences led by professor Mirjam Ekstedt.  

In another project, we are exploring how 3D visualization of movements through the Skeleton Avatar camera Technique (SAT) can be used and facilitate assessments of functional ability among older adults to, for example,  early detection of functional impairments. The project is connected to Linnaeus University Centre for Data Intensive Sciences and Applications - DISA e-Health. 

I am also co-supervising the PhD student Joakim Niklasson in a project connected to Region Blekinge with a focus on mapping and reducing sedentary behaviour among community-dwelling older adults.

In my research, I am collaborating with a research group at the Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary. 

Commissions

Programme Coordinator Health Science, Master Programme, 120 credits.