Dr Fiona Dickinson

Post-doctoral Research Associate

Fiona has a BSc (hons) degree in Midwifery, a MSc in Social Research Methods and a PhD in Global health.

She worked as a Staff Midwife and Midwifery Research Assistant in the NHS, before taking up a role as a Healthcare Manager for an NGO-run orphanage in north Africa.

She has worked at LSTM for over 10 years, initially as a Research Assistant and subsequently as M&E Data Manager. Projects have included a wide variety of maternal and newborn health research studies and implementation packages across sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia.

Fiona has a particular interest in the assessment and improvement of care quality for women and newborns and the provision of breastfeeding support for new mothers. She completed her PhD in Global Health in 2021, during which she developed the Maternity Patient Reported Outcome Measure.

Current research includes: patient reported outcome measure for assessing quality of care in maternity services; use of assisted vaginal births in healthcare facilities in Kenya; monitoring of emergency obstetric signal function availability and performance in selected counties in Kenya; and peer-mother breastfeeding support for mothers of low-birth-weight babies in western Kenya.

Fiona has taught and assessed at postgraduate level, including on the Diploma in Tropical Nursing, the Diploma in Reproductive Health, and Masters modules on Quality Improvements in Maternal and Newborn Health. She is currently supervising two PhD students and developing a QI blended learning package.

Fiona is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Recent publications: 

    Selected publications

    • Ameh C, White S, Dickinson F, Mdegela M, Madaj B, van den Broek N. (2018) Retention of knowledge and skills after Emergency Obstetric Care training: A multi-country longitudinal study. PLoS ONE. 13(10).

      McCauley M, Madaj B, White SA, Dickinson F, Bar-Zev S, Aminu M, Godia PM, Mittal P, Shamsa Z, van den Broek N. (2018) Burden of physical, psychological and social ill-health during and after pregnancy among women in India, Pakistan, Kenya and Malawi. BMJ Global Health. 3(3).

      Ameh C, Kerr R, Madaj B, Mdegela M, Kana T, Jones S, Lambert J, Dickinson F, White S, van den Broek N. (2016) Knowledge and Skills of Healthcare Providers in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia before and after Competency-Based Training in Emergency Obstetric and Early Newborn Care. PLoS ONE. 11(12).

      Dickinson FM, Pyone T, van den Broek N. (2016) Experiences from the field: maternal, reproductive and child health data collection in humanitarian and emergency situations. International Health. 8: 83-88.

      Pyone T, Dickinson F, Kerr R, Boschi-Pinto C, Mathai M, van den Broek N. (2015) Data collection tools for maternal and child health in humanitarian emergencies: a systematic review. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 93(9): 648-658.