DrJosh Hayward

Dr Hayward is a Research Fellow, committed to the delivery of impactful population health research in genuine partnership with communities and the organisations that serve them. An experienced leader in large, partnership-based prevention trials supporting child health and wellbeing, Josh has delivered research projects that have improved the health of Victorian children, and enhanced the capacity of the prevention sector to hear, understand and respond to community perspectives and priorities on child health.

Josh's portfolio of research is underpinned by a focus on participatory, systems-based methods, which aim to engage stakeholders in insightful conversations about the deeper structures that have embedded the health challenges they face today. Over the last 10 years, this has led Dr Hayward to collaborate with hundreds of academics, community members, prevention practitioners, organisational leaders and policymakers in Australia and abroad. Through these collaborations, he has been a leader in the design of systems-thinking approaches to prevention in the UK, Canada, and multiple European nations.

This research journey is reflected in Josh’s growing research track record, with over 35 publications, and more than $5m in research income addressing diverse health challenges such as child health and wellbeing, climate-related mental health, chronic disease management in Indigenous communities, rural food security, and models of mental healthcare delivery.

Josh is a member of the Dynamic Implementation Research group (a GLOBE research team), and of the Institute for Health Transformation.