Efforts to help war wounded in Ukraine
There are currently very few orthopaedic engineers that can meet the growing need for help in Ukraine. There is a large number of people with war injuries in Ukraine and staff from the Department of Rehabilitation (AFR) at the School of Health and Welfare (HHJ) at Jönköping University (JU) recently travelled to Poland to meet with Ukrainian rehabilitation specialists to identify what kind of skills development is needed.
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Staff from the School of Health and Welfare together with staff from Swedish rehabilitation clinics and rehabilitation professionals from Ukraine gathered in Poland to identify skill development areas.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the country's Ministry of Social Affairs has estimated that over 300,000 people now have some form of disability. Many of them need assistive devices such as orthoses (supportive braces or splints) and prostheses. However, there are currently only 24 orthopaedic engineers in Ukraine who can meet this need.
As well as staff from the School of Health and Welfare, some Swedish rehabilitation clinics also participated in the visit to Warsaw.
“This meeting was an important step in understanding the cultural context, challenges and priorities of our Ukrainian colleagues. During the rest of the project, we will provide opportunities for Ukrainian rehabilitation specialists to develop knowledge and skills in areas that they themselves have identified as necessary to provide the best possible care to their patients,” says Nerrolyn Ramstrand, Professor of Orthopaedic Technology and the project’s coordinator.
Lecture by staff from the School of Health and Welfare were held for the Ukrainian colleagues.
"A meaningful project"
The next step is to develop online modules based on the knowledge gaps identified at the meeting in Poland. The project team has also started to plan for Ukrainian colleagues to visit rehabilitation clinics in Sweden as well as the possibility of offering educational internships at HHJ.
Through lectures, workshops and group discussions, knowledge needs were identified.
The project is funded by the Swedish Institute and will last for two years. It is coordinated by staff from the AFR at HHJ together with two Ukrainian NGOs (Patients of Ukraine and ProtezHub).
"As an orthopaedic engineer, a project like this is deeply meaningful. It goes straight to the heart of what we do. The fact that it focuses on long-term goals through education, rather than short-term emergencies, makes it both exciting and rewarding. Working with our Ukrainian colleagues is a humbling experience, and I feel like I am contributing - albeit on a small scale - to counteracting the many destructive forces currently at play,’ says AFR lecturer, Rickard Bergman.
Read more about the collaborative project here
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