Prof Joanne Potterton

Joanne Potterton is a South African physiotherapist and academic whose work centers on pediatric rehabilitation, HIV, and neurodevelopment in resource-constrained settings. Affiliated with the University of the Witwatersrand, she has contributed extensively to strengthening rehabilitation practice and education across sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on equitable, interprofessional models of care.

Her research explores the physical and functional sequelae of perinatal HIV in adolescents, including disability, fatigue, motor performance, and participation. She has advanced understanding of rehabilitation needs through cross-sectional and qualitative studies, and has helped develop interprofessional models of care tailored to adolescents living with HIV, emphasizing advocacy and contextualized knowledge translation in physiotherapy training.

Potterton’s scholarship also addresses early childhood development and high-risk pediatric populations, such as children with congenital heart disease, developmental delay, spinal cord injury, and ADHD. Her work highlights early assessment, preventive care, and family-centered strategies, contributing to policy-relevant insights that strengthen rehabilitation systems and pediatric health services in Africa.