A/Prof. Fiona Blinkhorn

Work Phone	(02) 4349 4530
Fax	(02) 4349 4538
Email	Fiona.Blinkhorn@newcastle.edu.au
Position	Associate Professor of Oral Health School of Health Sciences The University of Newcastle, Australia
Office	Health Precinct 2.22, Health Precinct, Ourimbah

Biography

Associate Professor Fiona Blinkhorn obtained her Bachelor of Dental Surgery from the University of Manchester, UK in 1981. She began her career working for the Public Dental Service in the North West of England treating adults and children with special needs. She obtained her Master of Dental Surgery in 1986 investigating treatment services and dental needs of the elderly living at home. From there she joined the ranks of the academic fraternity and began teaching dental students and hygienists at the University of Manchester whilst undertaking specialist training in Paediatric Dentistry. Teaching has always been Fiona's great passion but she still maintained her clinical interest in Paediatric Dentistry and was awarded the title of Specialist in Paediatric Dentistry by the General Dental Council in 1999. She then began a secondment to the Dental Health Research Unit at the University of Manchester where she was an Examiner on a large caries clinical trial and she also obtained her PhD investigating dento-alveolar trauma in children.

Fiona's career then diversified into management and she held the positions of Director and Clinical Director of Dental Services for a large Area Health Service, again in the UK. Once again, she maintained her clinical and academic teaching sessions. In 2002 Fiona was awarded $500,000 to set up a School to train Dental Therapists and Hygienists within an AHS. The School was, and still is, very successful. In 2007 Fiona emigrated to Australia and once more began a career in the Public Dental Service, as Consultant in Oral health Promotion, for NSSCH Oral Health Service. In 2009 she set up a new program at the University of Newcastle, NSW, - the Graduate Diploma in Dental Therapy and was appointed to the position of Associate Professor to oversee this new and exciting postgraduate program. Fiona has numerous publications in peer reviewed journals and her research interests include health services research, early childhood oral health and the field of dental education

Qualifications

PhD, University of Manchester - England, 1994
Bachelor of Dental Surgery, Victoria University of Manchester, 1981

Research

Research keywords

Aboriginal oral health
Dental education
Health Services Research
Oral health
Paediatric Dentistry

Research expertise

A/Prof Blinkhorn has forty publications in peer reviewed journals and given numerous conference presentations internationally.

Since emigrating to Australia A/Prof Blinkhorn has developed an interest in the oral health of Aboriginal children, which is particularly poor with high levels of dental disease. She is currently working in collaboration with a research team from the University of Sydney to improve early childhood oral health in this population.

A/Prof Blinkhorn is particularly interested in Health Services Research and has undertaken a number of health promotion studies evaluating the benefits of different oral health interventions in the child population.

Having been involved with teaching students for over twenty years, A/Prof Blinkhorn has a special interest in evaluating teaching experiences, particularly outreach teaching. Her research has shown that oral health outreach placements in the public dental service provide numerous benefits to students.

Collaboration

A/Prof Blinkhorn is currently working in collaboration with the Centre for Oral Health Strategy, NSW Health, looking at ways to improve the oral health of the elderly population. She is also working in collaboration with the Department of Population Oral Health from the University of Sydney investigating different strategies to improve the oral health of Aboriginal children.

Languages

English

Fields of Research

Code	Description	Percentage
110599	Dentistry Not Elsewhere Classified	50
111799	Public Health And Health Services Not Elsewhere Classified	40
110799	Immunology Not Elsewhere Classified	10

Administrative

Administrative expertise

Associate Professor Blinkhorn was Founder and Head of the Greater Manchester School for Professions Complementary to Dentistry. The School was funded by a grant from the UK government following a successful grant application from A/Prof Blinkhorn. This position involved professional, administrative and financial responsibility involved with running the School which trained Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists.

A/Prof Blinkhorn is the Deputy Editor of the International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, a position she has held for eight years. The Journal deals with all the vital issues involved in health education and promotion worldwide - providing a valuable link between the health education research and practice communities.

Teaching

Teaching keywords

Paediatric Dentistry

Teaching expertise

Associate Professor Blinkhorn has a strong interest in student learning and has undertaken a number of projects evaluating the benefits of student placements. She has over twenty years of experience of teaching in the field of Paediatric Dentistry and is a registered Specialist Paedodontist.

The University of Newcastle, Australia