Rate My Professor Lizz Carrington

Lizz Carrington is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Physiotherapy within the Faculty of Health Professional Programmes at the University of Otago. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Zoology in 1999, Master of Science in Zoology with Distinction in 2004, and Bachelor of Physiotherapy with Distinction in 2008, all from the University of Otago. Carrington maintains strong ties to the School of Physiotherapy, where she has worked as a clinical supervisor and later as an academic staff member since 2019. Currently, she is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Health, Activity, and Rehabilitation Research (CHARR), focusing on determining the utility of play-based exercise programmes in green and blue spaces for children with disabilities. Her supervisors are Dr. Meredith Perry and Professor Leigh Hale. In addition to her research, she serves as the Student Support team co-ordinator for physiotherapy students.

Carrington's research specializations encompass paediatric physiotherapy, disability, accessibility, evidence-based practice education, family-centred care, supported self-management, innovative paediatric physiotherapy service delivery, play-based therapy, collaborative care, culturally safe healthcare environments, and the application of generative artificial intelligence in physiotherapy education. She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses in physiotherapy, neurorehabilitation, and accessibility. Her professional engagements include committee membership in the Physiotherapy New Zealand Paediatric Special Interest Group, the International Organisation of Paediatric Physical Therapists, and the Physiotherapy New Zealand Neurological Special Interest Group. Key publications include 'The development of the relate-know-respond model to enhance family-centred care' (Disabilities, 2025, co-authored with Hale, Freeman, and Perry); 'Learning from families: Disabled youth and their families' experiences of family-centred care' (New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, 2025, co-authored with Hale, Freeman, and Perry); 'Wellbeing perceptions of humans who “borrow” and “loan” dogs in the context of a dog-walk' (Society & Animals, 2025, co-authored with Smith and Treharne); 'Collaborative goal setting for disabled children within education: A scoping review' (New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, 2024, co-authored with Robinson and Calder); and 'The effectiveness of play as an intervention using International Classification of Functioning outcome measures for children with disabilities: A systematic review and meta-synthesis' (Disability & Rehabilitation, 2024, co-authored with Hale, Freeman, Smith, and Perry). An earlier publication is 'Manipulating the light/dark cycle: effects on dopamine levels in optic lobes of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) brain' (Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 2007, co-authored with Kokay, Duthie, Lewis, and Mercer).