Rate My Professor Sara Eastburn

Dr Sara Eastburn serves as Acting Head of the Department of Allied Health Professions, Sport and Exercise within the School of Human and Health Sciences at the University of Huddersfield, a role she assumed in 2021. Having joined the University in 2006 initially as a physiotherapist, she has advanced through various senior positions, including Head of Division and School Director of Academic Quality and Professional Governance. Eastburn holds a Doctor of Education (EdD) from the University of Huddersfield, where her doctoral thesis examined an interpretative phenomenological study on how pre-registration health and social care students use feedback. She is also a qualified physiotherapist, Chartered Manager, and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Currently, she leads a Master’s level module on Assessment in Health Professional Education.

Her research focuses on qualitative methods, particularly phenomenology, alongside healthcare education, workforce development, communities of practice theory, assessment, and feedback. Key recent publications include 'Exploring teachers’ experiences of secondary school physical education in England' (2026, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy), 'Housing affordability, cost-of-living and NHS workforce retention in a high-cost region of England: A multiphase study' (2026, SSM - Health Systems), 'Early Years Practitioners' and Public Health Consultants' Perspectives on the Use of Interactive Electronic Devices in Young Children: A Qualitative Study' (2025, Child: Care, Health and Development), 'The Use of Turning Points in Understanding Homelessness Transitions: A Critical Social Psychological Perspective' (2025, Housing, Theory and Society), and 'Understanding overweight and obesity subgroups: a cluster analysis of data from the UK Yorkshire Health Study' (2025, BMC Public Health). Eastburn has held external appointments such as Fitness to Practise Partner with the Health and Care Professions Council from 2015 to 2023, the University’s appointed Governor at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, and co-opted Governor at two local schools. In 2024, she joined the University Council, nominated by the Senate, serving on the Governance & Nominations Committee and Honorary Awards Committee.