Kara Blackburn
Research Midwife
Working groups
Background
Kara is a Registered Midwife and Nurse with a Master of International Public Health. She is part of the Global Women's and Newborn's Health group as a research midwife. Her background is a combination of tertiary level clinical maternity care in Australia, and in global sexual and reproductive health, having worked with the international humanitarian aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for over a decade.
After working in complex women's health projects as a field midwife in Darfur, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea, Kara worked as a women's health advisor with MSF. This involved developing and implementing programs and providing technical support to reduce very high rates of maternal and perinatal mortality. It also involved addressing sexual and reproductive health issues such as sexual violence, safe abortion care and cervical cancer in countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Philippines, Laos, Bougainville, Ivory Coast, South Sudan and Chad. She has been a contributor to the revision of MSFs women's health protocols and has developed an extensive in-service education program for midwives in Ivory Coast and Cambodia. Kara also currently practices as a clinical midwife at the Royal Women's Hospital.
Her interests are in strategies to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality in settings where mortality remains high, particularly in supporting midwives and midwifery education.
Qualifications
- 2010: MIPH, University of Queensland, Brisbane Australia
- 1998: GradDip Nurs (Mid) Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane Australia
- 1995: BNurs (pre-reg) Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane Australia
Positions
May 2021: Research Midwife, Burnet Institute
March–November 2020: Research Assistant, Burnet Institute
2018–present: Registered Midwife, Royal Womens Hospital, Melbourne
2011–2017: Medical Advisor-Women’s Health, Médecins Sans Frontières Medical Unit, Sydney
Burnet publications
View 1 moreImproving quality of maternal and newborn care: An evaluation of enablers and barriers in implementing emergency obstetric and newborn care training in Bhutan and Lao People’s Democratic Republic
PLOS Global Public Health
Sabera Turkmani et al
Formative research to optimize pre-eclampsia risk-screening and prevention (PEARLS): study protocol
Reproductive Health
Nicole Minckas et al
Midwifery education in Pacific Island countries: A discussion paper
Women and Birth
Rachel Smith et al
Past projects
Needs assessment for skilled birth attendants (SBAs) in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV countries)
The project aims to assess further education and training for CLMV countries to increase the number of accredited Skilled Birth Attendants
Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) Systems in Asia Pacific during the Covid-19 Pandemic 2020-2021
This project is a key initiative to improve the quality of care for maternal and neonatal health.
News and features
Special focus on Thailand in Burnet Travel Awards
Funds totalling $140,000 have been shared among 22 Burnet Institute Travel Award winners for 2025, including a new and special award, the Princess Srinagarindra PhD Scholarship.
Midwives: our unrecognised critical first responders
On International Day of the Midwife, we pay tribute to the role of midwives in times of crisis.