Joanna Zammit Briffa is a Visiting Senior Lecturer in the Department of Occupational Therapy within the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Malta. She is a registered Occupational Therapist having qualified in 1988. She obtained her M.Sc. In Occupational Therapy from the University of East London in 1996. Her research was on Cardiac rehabilitation and patient education programmes. She currently lectures in Acute and sub-acute medical care (Cardiac), Geriatrics and Professional Behaviour and Leadership for Occupational Therapists. She also guides and supervises students research proposals and dissertations as well as teaching, facilitating and supervising final year students during Clinical Skills laboratories at Mater Dei Hospital.
Her clinical background in Occupational Therapy includes experience in physical dysfunction having worked several years in Acute general hospitals, St. Luke’s Hospital and Mater Dei Hospital. She was the Manager of Occupational Therapy Services for Malta and Gozo from 2007, having also deputised in this role for 3 years prior. Between 2010 – 2016, Joanna was appointed as the first Director for Allied Health Services within the Ministry for Health. She established this Directorate to liaise and coordinate with all Health professions under this Directorate’s remit. She has represented Allied Health Professions both locally and internationally.
Joanna currently holds a position of Director Post Graduate Health Sciences Training and leads various EU funded projects for the Ministry for Health and Active Ageing.