Sofia Backåberg

I am an Associate Professor at the Department of Health and Caring Sciences, where I am the leader of the research group ReAction (Resilient Healthcare and Patient Activation) and a member of the steering committee for a newly established Special Interest Group on Participatory Design.

My research interests focus on methods and tools that promote health and prevent disability and disease. I have a strong interest in co‑creation approaches that support participation and engagement. With my background as a physiotherapist, I am particularly interested in human movement and the use of digital technologies and tools to enhance sustainable human movement; physical literacy, movement quality and movement control.

Teaching

I am teaching, supervising and examining theses in the Nursing Program,  undergraduate and advanced level, and I am course coordinator for courses in scientific methods and independent thesis.

I have a great interest in experiential learning and creating learning opportunities that are engaging to facilitate creativity and reflection. One scenatio-based reflection method I have used in teaching and research is Forum Play. 

Research

I am involved in several multidisciplinary research projects that focus on supporting people’s health, independence, and opportunities for an active life.

In the project Confidence in every step, we use co‑design to explore how digital tools can be developed and implemented in health and social care to engage older adults in self‑care at home and motivate healthy behaviors, including training to maintain physical function. In this project, I am the principal supervisor of PhD student Jessica Olofsson.

In another project, we explore how the Skeleton Avatar Technique (SAT) and AI‑trained models can visualize movement and support functional assessments among older adults—for example, to detect early functional decline or evaluate interventions aimed at reducing fall risk. This project is connected to the Linnaeus University Centre for Data Intensive Sciences and Applications – DISA eHealth.

In the ReDIG project, we study how self‑care and health can be supported through digital self‑monitoring. This project is conducted in close collaboration with Region Kronoberg and Region Kalmar County.

In my research, I also collaborate with scholars at the Faculty of Kinesiology and researchers in Computational Design at the University of Calgary in Canada.

Commissions

Academic leader for the Resilient healthcare and patient activation group - The ReAction group at the Deptartment of Health and Caring Sciences.

Member of the Academic Advisory Board at Region Kronoberg.