Dr. Cornelia Anne Barth

• Head of Continuing Education in Health

• Head of School of Physiotherapy

• MSc Physiotherapy

• Rehabilitation in low-resource, fragile, conflict-affected settings

• Humanitarian Health

• Rehabilitation, Assistive Technology, Disability

• Gender

• Participatory Approaches

• Nel Barth is head of the physiotherapy division and the continuing education programme at the School of Health Professions at Bern University of Applied Sciences. In these roles, she is a member of the School's steering committee and the University's continuing education committee. Prior to this, she was the coordinator of Cochrane Switzerland, promoting and enhancing evidence-based healthcare decision-making. Nel is a physiotherapist with a PhD in rehabilitation in fragile health systems and extensive experience in conflict-affected, low-resource contexts. Her work in strengthening rehabilitation in humanitarian settings has taken her to 28 different countries. After settling in Geneva, she continued her work in the humanitarian field, building research and teaching capacity. This included leading a research project on gender and access to rehabilitation in fragile contexts funded by the Swedish Research Council and a project on war trauma physiotherapy for Ukrainian universities funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Her academic output includes qualitative and participatory approaches, gender issues, policy papers and population studies. Nel is associate editor of the Assistive Technology Journal and reviewer for several journals.

• 2024 - today Head of School of Physiotherapy Bern University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland
• 2024 - today Head of Continuing Education in Health Bern University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland
• 2021 - 2024 Coordinator of Cochrane Switzerland Cochrane Switzerland, Unisanté, Switzerland
• 2021 - 2023 Research Project Manager Unisanté, Switzerland
• 2017 - 2021 Global Rehabilitation Specialist International Committee of the Red Cross, Switzerland
• 2008 - 2016 International Humanitarian Cooperation (diverse clinical & leadership positions) Médecins Sans Frontières, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), German Corporation for International Cooperation, Handicap International, International Medical Corps, World Physiotherapy
• 1997 - 2014 Clinical Physiotherapist Diverse Employers in Germany, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Guinea
• 2006 - 2008 Lecturer for Physiotherapy and Allied Health Professions Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland
• 2001 - 2006 Lecturer for Physiotherapy Munich School for Physiotherapy (GFEB), Germany

• 2023 PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) University College Dublin, Ireland
• 2005 BSc (Bachelor of Medical Science in Physiotherapy) Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
• 2002 MSc (Master of Science in Neurophysiotherapy) University College London, United Kingdom
• 1997 State Diploma School of Physiotherapy, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

• CAS Leading Complex Multidisciplinary Teams, 2021; Humanitarian Leadership and Management School (HLMS), ICRC and University Luzern
• CAS Leading by Example, 2020; HLMS, ICRC and University Luzern
• Certificate Coaching and Communication Skills, 2016; Leadership, Management and Governance Project; Management Sciences for Health
• CAS Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2008; PH Zurich
• Associate Editor: Assistive Technology Journal
• Reviewer: PLOS One, PLOS Global Public Health, Physical Therapy in Sport, World Physiotherapy Congress, physioscience

• Google Scholar profile

• ORCID profile

• Committee Continuing Education

• Steering Committee of the School of Health Professions

• Cochrane

• Physioswiss

• Swiss Society for Gender Health (founding & committee member)

A Focus Group Study to Understand the Perspectives of Physiotherapists on Barriers and Facilitators to Advancing Rehabilitation in Low-Resource and Conflict Settings

Gender aspects in Rehabilitation of persons with Amputation in Conflict-affected Environments

Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft

• Rebecca Kahler, Annette Probst, Cornelia A. Barth Die Erfahrungen von Physiotherapeuten in der internationalen Freiwilligenarbeit im Ausland – Eine Analyse aus postkolonialer Perspektive [Physiotherapists in International Voluntary Work Abroad – An Analysis of Field Reports from a Postcolonial Perspective] 2020

• German - Native or bilingual proficiency
• English - Full professional proficiency
• French - Full professional proficiency