Finnish-Chinese Collaboration Project Develops New Competence for Telerehabilitation of the Elderly
The Multidisciplinary Telerehabilitation Interventions for the Elderly Populationproject (MultiTeleRehab) aims to improve our understanding of elderly rehabilitation and promote their functional capacity through aging technology and telerehabilitation. Additionally, the project fosters research collaboration between Oulu University of Applied Sciences (Oamk) and Binzhou Medical University (BZMU), while also advancing expertise in the field internationally.
– An aging population structure presents new challenges to healthcare, social services, and the economy. Ensuring adequate caregiving resources strains both Finnish and Chinese social security systems. This creates a need for stronger expertise in utilizing telerehabilitation. Through our project, we address this issue by organizing virtual and in-person collaborative workshops, seminars, and study visits for students and teachers in Finland and China, explains Essi Xiong.
Essi Xiong, a Senior lecturer at Oulu University of Applied Sciences, serves as the project manager for MultiTeleRehab. The project team at Oamk also includes five other experts: Principal Lecturer Satu Elo, Principal Lecturer Heidi Ruotsalainen, Senior Lecturer Sanna Kurttila, Senior Lecturer Kirsi Jokinen, and Senior Lecturer Marika Tuiskunen.
– The project activities began in August 2024 with collaboration meetings, networking with international mobility services, course design, and organizing exchanges. Currently, we are developing our communication and translation processes, Essi notes.
Binzhou Medical University, the project’s partner, was identified through existing networks:
– We were in contact with the chief rehabilitation physicians at Peking Union Medical College and Nanjing University. They recommended Binzhou Medical University due to its strong rehabilitation training orientation.
These connections were facilitated by the China Network of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences, which has been active since 2021. This initiative culminated in autumn 2024 with a letter of intent between the network and Tsinghua University, a top Chinese university. The letter was signed during President Alexander Stubb’s state visit.
– Rehabilitation is a developing field in China, and rehabilitation education is still in its formative stages. At the same time, they have significant expertise in traditional Chinese medical practices and in developing technology related to aging, artificial intelligence, and robotics, Essi adds.
The project includes seminars, virtual learning sessions, and exchanges for staff and students, and its end result will be a new online course. International collaboration provides opportunities to learn new practices for telerehabilitation of the aging population in two culturally, geographically, and sociodemographically different environments. Exchange programs will begin in spring 2025, and the first online courses will launch in February 2025.
Are your studies or work related to rehabilitation of the elderly? Are you interested in discussing and learning about international rehabilitation methods and practices? If you answered yes, contact Project Manager Essi Xiong.
The MultiTeleRehab project is funded by the Finnish National Agency for Education. Oulu University of Applied Sciences is the main implementer of the project, with Binzhou Medical University as a co-implementer.
For more information:
Project Manager Essi Xiong, puh. +358 50 476 9366, essi.xiong@oamk.fi
Text: Aleksi Nikula / Design Inspis