Dr sc Lea Ettlin

Work at ZHAW

Focus

2015 Physiotherapy at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland in Leukerbad, Switzerland Position: Volunteer research assistant Conducting Measurements and Supervision for the participants during the intervention in the Pilot „Home-based Program "T&E" for Fall Prevention and QoL in Elderly: a Randomised Control Pilot-study ("T&E" elderly)“ 2012-2015 Improved inter-professional work collaboration with nurses, occupational therapists, speech therapists, GPs (patient-centred care) Implemented a project of the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich): Cognitive-motor intervention – Stepmania 2013 Elaborated and implemented a fall-prevention concept: “Physiotherapy intervention to reduce falls and the risk of fracture in elderly people with osteopenia/-porosis relating to fear of falling“

Teaching

• School assistance 'Implementation', MSc physiotherapy
• external teacher 'scientific working and quantitative research', BSc
• external teacher 'scientific working and qualitative research', BSc
• external teacher 'scientific communication', BSc
• Lecturer

Experience

• Researcher
  Swiss Association Morbus Bechterev
  03 / 2023 - today
• Clinical physiotherapist, BSc, MSc
  KZU Competence Centre for Nursing and Health, Bassersdorf, Switzerland (special-care home and out-patient facility)
  08 / 2023 - 03 / 2024
• Clinical Physiotherapist, MSc Working in gerontology in a nursing home and mainly home-based therapy, in the physiotherapy fields of: neurology, lymphatic, musculoskeletal, respiratory, chronic pain. Supervision for BSc students in internship
  KZU Competence Centre for Nursing and Health, Bassersdorf, Switzerland (special-care home and out-patient facility)
  06 / 2016 - 08 / 2017
• Shop assistant and sales manager for the Art Show 2015
  The Art Shop on Hiddingh Campus, Cape Town, South Africa
  07 / 2015 - 05 / 2016
• Volunteer assistant for children from townships in hippotherapy
  S.A.R.D.A. (South African Riding for the Disabled Association), Constantia, South Africa
  07 / 2015 - 05 / 2016
• Clinical Physiotherapist, MSc (teamleader) Working in gerontology in a nursing home and mainly home-based therapy, in the physiotherapy fields of: neurology, lymphatic, musculoskeletal, respiratory, chronic pain. Supervision for BSc students in internship
  KZU Competence Centre for Nursing and Health, Bassersdorf, Switzerland (special-care home and out-patient facility)
  03 / 2012 - 03 / 2015
• Physiotherapist
  in a outpatient praxis in Winterthur
  08 / 2010 - 02 / 2012

Education and Continuing education

Education

• PhD / Health Sciences
  University of Lucerne; UAS Winterthur
  08 / 2017 - 01 / 2021
• MSc / physiotherapy
  UAS Winterthur
  08 / 2010 - 07 / 2013
• BSc / physiotherapy
  UAS Winterthur
  08 / 2006 - 07 / 2010

Continuing Education

• Lymphological physiotherapy
  KSW Winterthur
  11 / 2015
• Summer School 'Implementation'
  UAS Winterthur
  09 / 2015
• Internship Mentor
  UAS Winterthur
  09 / 2012

Network

Membership of networks

SVMB

ORCID digital identifier

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7838-2051

Media presence

• Conservative knee osteoarthritis management - Lea Ettlin [Student ScienceFlashTalk]
• Elderly care - Lea Ettlin [Student presentation]
• Conservative knee osteoarthritis management - Lea Ettlin [Student ScienceFlashTalk]

Projects

• MyBeFit@ZHAW – Training concept with exercise advice, assessment, and physical training / Co-project leader / ongoing
• Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) in Switzerland / Team member / completed

Publications

Articles in scientific journal, peer-reviewed

• Rausch Osthoff, A.-K. et al. (2025) 'Association between grip and core muscle strength in people with axial spondyloarthritis and healthy controls', BMC Rheumatology, 9(124). doi: 10.1186/s41927-025-00575-y.
• Pfyl, N. et al. (2025) 'Evaluation of usability, feasibility and acceptance of the digital training diary Trainingslog for individuals with axSpA : a mixed-method study', BMC Rheumatology, 9(1), p. 18. doi: 10.1186/s41927-025-00463-5.
• Ettlin, L. et al. (2021) 'Does the conservative non-pharmacological management of knee osteoarthritis in Switzerland reflect the clinical guidelines? : a survey among general practitioners, rheumatologists, and orthopaedic surgeons', Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 2(658831). doi: 10.3389/fresc.2021.658831.

Written conference contributions, peer-reviewed

• Pfyl, N. et al. (2024) 'Evaluation of usability and feasibility and acceptance of the digital training diary for individuals with axSpA', in Annual European Congress of Rheumatology EULAR, Vienna, Austria, 12-15 June 2024.
• Ettlin, L. and Niedermann Schneider, K. (2020) 'Policy Brief : how can the international clinical guidelines for knee osteoarthritis management be systematically implemented in Switzerland?', in Swiss Public Health Conference 2020 : «From Evidence to Public Health Policy and Practice», Virtual Conference, 2-3 September 2020. ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-22482.

Other publications

• Ettlin, L. et al. (2021) 'Conservative non-pharmacological management of knee osteoarthritis in Switzerland : there is an evidence-performance gap', in 2. Kooperationskongress SMARTER REHA, online, 6.-7. Mai 2021. ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-22481.
• Ettlin, L. and Niedermann Schneider, K. (2020) How can the international clinical guidelines for knee osteoarthritis management be implemented systematically in Switzerland?. Lucerne: Swiss Learning Health System. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-24473.
• Ettlin, L. and Niedermann Schneider, K. (2020) How can the international clinical guidelines for knee osteoarthritis management be systematically implemented in Switzerland?. Swiss Learning Health System. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-22480.

Publications before appointment at the ZHAW

• Ettlin L, & Niedermann K. (2020). How can the international clinical guidelines for knee osteoarthritis management be implemented systematically in Switzerland? Swiss Learning Health System. Policy Brief #6 from the Swiss Learning Health System (SLHS).
• Ettlin L, Nast I, Rausch Osthoff AK, Niedermann K. (2021). Applicability of exercise and education programmes for knee osteoarthritis management to Switzerland. Front. Health Serv. Featured in Global Excellence in Implementation Science: Europe
• Ettlin L, Nast I, Huber EO, Niedermann K. (2021). Does the Conservative Non-pharmacological Management of Knee Osteoarthritis in Switzerland Reflect the Clinical Guidelines? A Survey Among General Practitioners, Rheumatologists, and Orthopaedic Surgeons. Front. Rehabilit. Sci. 2:658831.   Featured in Frontiers’ Interventions for Rehabilitation Highlights collection
• Ettlin L, Bruderer-Hofstetter M, Rausch-Osthoff A, et al. (2022). Evaluation of the strategy for implementing the GLA:D programme in Switzerland: protocol for an implementation-effectiveness hybrid type 3 design study with a mixed-method approach. BMJ Open 2022;12:e057993.
• Health Professionals in Rheumatology Abstracts 2024-06 | Conference paper Contributors: N. Pfyl; L. Ettlin; K. Niedermann Schneider; A. K. Rausch
• Health Professionals in Rheumatology Abstracts 2023-06 | Journal article DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2023-eular.6286 Contributors: A. K. Rausch Osthoff; M. Bruderer-Hofstetter; L. Ettlin; F. Bischofberger; S. Papritz; A. Schwab; F. Weidmann; J. Niggli; K. Niedermann Schneider

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