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Contact information


umasha.ukwatte@phc.ox.ac.uk

Umasha Ukwatte

BOH MClinRes

Research Assistant

  • Dental Hygienist and Therapist
  • Deputy IG lead for the Infections, Respiratory and Acute Care team

Research

I am a Research Assistant for the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) in Community Healthcare. 

 I work on a number of different projects undertaken by the HRC. The Digital Evaluation of Wounds (DEW) project aims to  evaluate the performance of a smartphone application with an automated wound measuring function and generate evidence about the impact of implementation to services delivered by the district nursing service. I am also working on a project aimed at identifying the gaps in health technology that could improve the way district nurses manage and care for patients. 

I am a practicing Dental Hygienist and Dental Therapist with over 5 years of clinical experience gained in Melbourne, Australia and London, UK. My personal research interests lie in improving dental health by identifying and addressing barriers to dental care for underserved populations such as community dwelling older adults and individuals living in rural, remote and regional settings.  

Grants

I am principal investigator for the following current PPIE grants  

  • DEW- impact project. Focused on developing a patient facing communication tool to support district nurses with discussions about digital wound technologies with patients 
  • Working With Informal Caregivers and Older Adults to Improve Oral Care at Home. Focused on improving the oral health of older adults by exploring the needs of care-dependent individuals and their informal caregivers, as little is known about the information, training, and support caregivers need to help maintain good oral health for the people they care for.