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Howson, Dr Fiona

Dr Howson is a consultant in medicine for older people who specialises in older people's bone health.

MBChB (Hons), MRCP (Geriatrics), DM

Training and education

  • Undergraduate medical training at the University of Liverpool - qualified 2006
  • Postgraduate medical training in Mersey and Wessex regions
  • Geriatric medicine training in Wessex region
  • DM (Doctor of Medicine) at University of Southampton - awarded 2018

Experience

Dr Howson joined UHS in November 2016 as a consultant in medicine for older people.

She looks after older people who are admitted to hospital with medical problems and frailty (vulnerability to health problems caused by getting older). This includes working with health professionals at UHS, in community hospitals and in the community to coordinate care for patients in hospital and at home. She also works within the orthopaedic department to look after older people who are recovering from hip fractures.

Dr Howson is the departmental lead for delirium (sudden confusion). She's also involved in improving the understanding of the patient experience in medicine for older people. She takes an active role in the supervision of junior doctors and medical students.

Key achievements

  • DM: investigating the use of trained volunteer mealtime assistants to improve mealtime care of older hospital inpatients
  • CLAHRC (Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care) research fellow, 2014 to 2016

Research

Dr Howson’s research interests include nutrition and dietary intake in hospital inpatients and the use of frailty scoring scales in hospitals.

Publications

Howson FFA, Robinson SM, Lin SX, et al. Can trained volunteers improve the mealtime care of older hospital patients? An implementation study in one English hospital. BMJ Open 2018;8:e022285

Ibrahim K, Howson FFA, Culliford DJ, Sayer AA, Roberts HC. The feasibility of assessing frailty and sarcopenia in hospitalised older people: a comparison of commonly used tools. BMC Geriatrics 2019 Feb 15;19(1):42

FFA Howson, AA Sayer, HC Roberts. The impact of trained volunteer mealtime assistants on dietary intake and satisfaction with mealtime care in adult hospital inpatients: A systematic review. The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging 21 (9), 1038-1049

Contact

You can contact Dr Howson via her secretary on 023 8120 4354 or email Michelle.Knight@uhs.nhs.uk.