Harriët Wittink
Harriët Wittink PhD has been a professor for and chair of the research group Lifestyle and Health at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht since 2007. She started her career as a physiotherapist and obtained her doctorate with a thesis on the relationship between physical activity, physical fitness and chronic low back pain.
Within the research group, Wittink studies the relationship between exercise and health. She focuses on people with certain medical conditions that prevent them from exercising. Working together with remedial therapists and physiotherapists, her aim is to improve the current state of healthcare for the patients’ benefit.
- 2007 – present: Professor and Chair of the Research group Lifestyle and Health at the Faculty of Healthcare, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht
- 2005 – 2007: Programme Manager for the professional master’s programme in Physiotherapy
- 1998: Obtained her PhD at Boston University with a dissertation entitled ‘Physical activity, physical fitness and chronic low back pain’
Fields of expertise
- Physiotherapy; exercise physiology
- Chronic pain rehabilitation
- Clinimetrics
Publications
- Illness perceptions; exploring mediators and/or moderators in disabling persistent low back pain Multiple baseline single-case experimental design
- Physiotherapists’ knowledge, attitude and practice behavior to prevent chronification in patients with non-specific, non-traumatic, acute- and subacute neck pain: A qualitative study
- Sports Participation, Physical Activity, and Health-Related Fitness in Youth With Chronic Diseases or Physical Disabilities The Health in Adapted Youth Sports Study
