Marika Augutis

The driving force behind my research is the belief that if a child or adolescent in Sweden acquires a spinal cord injury, both the child and their parents should receive the best possible care and rehabilitation, allowing the child to enter adulthood as an independent, self-sufficient individual with a good quality of life.

I earned my PhD in 2007 from Karolinska Institutet with my dissertation Pediatric Spinal Cord Injury. A key conclusion of my dissertation was that, since these injuries are rare, expertise must be centralized. Furthermore, close collaboration between pediatric care and adult spinal cord injury care must be established, Nordic and international cooperation should be strengthened, and strategies developed for collaboration with the child’s local healthcare providers.

I have been a licensed physical therapist since 1974. From 1976 to 2002, I worked as a physical therapist at the pediatric department in Sundsvall, Region Västernorrland. During this period, I also spent part of my time working in habilitation and neurorehabilitation for adults. From 2002 until 2024, I worked as a research advisor at Research and Development, Region Västernorrland, and part-time at the pediatric department, Linköping University Hospital.

Additionally, in 1979, I worked at a neurological rehabilitation clinic for adults in Leukerbad, Switzerland, and in 1988, I spent four months at a spinal cord injury clinic in Melbourne, Australia, studying spinal cord injury care and rehabilitation.

In 1982, I became an active member of the patient organization RGAktiv Rehabilitering, where I participated as a leader both within Sweden and in the organization’s international activities (Ukraine and Lithuania). I served as a board member four times.

My research interest began in the late 1990s when I saw how inadequate and unorganized care and rehabilitation were for children and adolescents with acquired spinal cord injury.

Academic achievements:

• 2001 | Hans Frankel scholarship, International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS)

• 2020 | Atlas Prize – Fysioterapeuterna (Västernorrland)

• Licensed physical therapist, 1974

• Master's in Physical Therapy, 1999

• Specialist degree in pediatric physical therapy, 2001

• PhD from Karolinska Institutet, 2007

My research focuses on children and adolescents with acquired spinal cord injury. This includes areas such as epidemiology, prevention, adolescent medicine, transition, healthcare systems, peer support, co-production (IKT) and telerehabilitation. I work to promote the international use of standardized and validated assessment tools.

I am a member of a Special Interest Group (SIG) within the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) and Steel Assembly, and I have contributed to the Spinal Cord Injury Research Evidence Project (SCIRE), which evaluates the scientific evidence related to pediatric spinal cord injury research (www.scireproject.com).

Together with Kerstin Wahman and Per Ertzgaard, I am involved in a multinational survey study (PEPSCI) exploring which areas of care children, adolescents, and their parents consider most important for healthcare providers to prioritize.

I am also part of a project initiated by Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital in Norway, focused on the care and rehabilitation of children and adolescents with spinal cord injury. As part of this project—SINpedSCI (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04117854)—young people with spinal cord injury from seven countries have been interviewed about their experiences living with such an injury.

I have been teaching and supervising in research methodology since 2002-2024.

I  lecture on topics related to children and adolescents with acquired spinal cord injury, adolescent medicine, transition to adult care, and peer support.

I have a pedagogic degree as teacher for Physical Therapists (1986).