Associate Professor Josephine Gwynn
Program Director - B.App.Sc (Occupational Therapy)
Co-Lead - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Node, Charles Perkins Centre
Dr Josephine Gwynn is a Senior Lecturer in the Sydney School of Health Sciences (occupational therapy). Dr Gwynn has 30 years’ experience in the University sector, and in research, education and community health with Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Prior to commencing at the University of Sydney in 2015 Dr Gwynn was employed at the University of Newcastle where her PhD was conferred in 2012.
Dr Gwynn has a strong record of research conducted in collaboration with Australian Aboriginal communities which focuses primarily on reducing the burden of ill health caused by diabetes and cardiovascular disease through understanding and addressing workforce issues, environmental contributors and nutrition and physical activity risk factors, particularly in regional and remote areas.
Aboriginal community leadership and governance of research along with participatory based methods (including co-design) are central to the development, design and delivery of her program of work. A socio-ecological framework and de-colonising approach positions that research, and capacity building of partner communities is a critical component. The implementation of Indigenous research methodologies and application of a strengths-based philosophy are key to Dr Gwynn’s research.
Translation of research into outcomes that benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is embedded into all of Dr Gwynn’s research.
Dr Gwynn encourages her students to consider emerging areas of occupational therapy practice such as population health, community development, complex determinants of health in vulnerable and diverse communities. This content challenges the traditional view of occupational therapy. Dr Gwynn strongly believes that Occupational Therapists are ideally situated to address community level challenges for vulnerable peoples internationally. She is particularly focussed on the University of Sydney graduate qualities of ‘depth of disciplinary expertise’, ‘cultural competence’ and ‘interdisciplinary effectiveness’, all key attributes of emerging professional roles for Occupational Therapists.
Dr Gwynn is regularly invited as a guest lecturer. She is also committed to supporting students in research and has supervised students in: undergraduate honours in Occupational Therapy and the School of Health Sciences Appended Honours, Summer Scholars at the Charles Perkins Centre, Medicine MD program, Masters and PhD. Topics have largely focussed on research with Aboriginal communities including: children’s physical activity, retention factors in the Aboriginal workforce, community food security, cardiovascular health, development of culturally responsive occupational therapy service delivery, and public health policy.
Dr Gwynn is currently engaged in the following research:
• The Early Atrial Fibrillation Screening for Indigenous people (EASI) study: MRFF Cardiovascular Grant
Retention of the Aboriginal health, aged care and disability workforce: Australian Research Council (ARC) Indigenous Discovery Grant.
• Preventing falls in older Aboriginal people - the Ironbark trial: NHMRC project grant.
• The feasibility and acceptability of the Modified Kimberley Indigenous Cognitive Assessment (mKICA) to Aboriginal people attending an acute tertiary hospital: St Vincent’s Health Network Clinic Foundation Multi-Disciplinary Grants.
• Community co-design to develop and test measures to examine the health and wellbeing impact of Deadly Running Australia: UNSW Ageing Futures Institute.
• The impact of community nutrition program inlcuding native grains in two remote NSW Aboriginal communities:
- Indigenous Allied Health Australia.
- Lowitja Institute
- Australian Occupational Therapy Association: member number 948588.
- Registered with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA): number OCC0002144244
2017: Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, Sydney - Award for contribution to research management and delivery in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
2012: Poster Prize - Early Origins of Chronic Disease Symposium, Australian Society for Medical Research, Adelaide, September 2012.
2011: University of Newcastle Faculty of Health Staff Award for Indigenous Collaboration
2010: Certificate of Achievement - Priority Centre for Health Behaviour, School of Medicine and Public Health: In recognition and appreciation of outstanding publication performance in 2010 as an early career researcher.
2005: Inaugural University of Newcastle Eric Sansom Diabetes Scholarship.
Publications
Journals
- Mackenzie, L., Gwynn, J., Gilroy, J. (2024). Experiences of occupational therapy students undertaking an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health module: embedding cultural responsiveness in professional curricula. Australian Health Review, 48(4), 374-380. [More Information]
- Parter, C., Gwynn, J., Wilson, S., C Skinner, J., Rix, E., Hartz, D. (2024). Putting Indigenous Cultures and Indigenous Knowledges Front and Centre to Clinical Practice: Katherine Hospital Case Example. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(1), 3. [More Information]
- Macniven, R., Delbaere, K., Lewis, E., Radford, K., Canuto, K., Dickson, M., Richards, J., Gwynn, J., Withall, A. (2023). Community co-selection of measures to evaluate the health and wellbeing impact of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community running groups. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 34(1), 17-23. [More Information]
Conferences
- Nahdi, S., Skinner, J., Neubeck, A., Freedman, B., Gwynn, J., Lochen, M., Poppe, K., Rambaldini, B., Rolleston, A., Stavrakis, S., Gwynne, K. (2021). One size does not fit all - a realist review of screening for asymptomatic atrial fibrillation in Indigenous communities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and United States. ESC Congress 2021 - The Digital Experience, France: European Society of Cardiology. [More Information]
- Gwynn, J., Harvey, A., Gilroy, J., Penman, M., Russell, G. (2018). Indigenous Health and Critical Self-Reflection: Looking inwards to achieve culturally safe practice. National Centre for Cultural Competence Cultural Competence and the Higher Education Sector: Dilemmas, Policies and Practice, Not applicable: Not Applicable Records.
- Flood, V., Hamzaid, N., O'Connor, H., Gwynn, J., Einfeld, S. (2016). Improving the food and nutrition intake of people with intellectual disabilities living in group homes in Australia: Scope for programme development. IASSIDD (International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) 15th World Congress, 2016, Melbourne, Australia: IASSIDD Asia.
Report
- Davies, A., Gwynn, J., Flood, V., Allman-Farinelli, M., Dickson, M., Turner, N., Lock, M. (2022). Evidence for improving food security in Aboriginal communities in NSW? A Rapid Review for Aboriginal Affairs NSW (An Evidence Check rapid review brokered by the Sax Institute for Aboriginal Affairs NSW).
- Flood, V., Gwynn, J., Gifford (nee Barnard), J., Turner, N., Hardy, L. (2016). Short survey instruments for children's diet and physical activity: the evidence? A Rapid Review for NSW Ministry of Health (An Evidence Check rapid review brokered by the Sax Institute for the NSW Ministry of Health).
Research Reports
- Gwynn, J. (2014). Dhama Burru Nyinhi Gurraar (Eat Strong Live Long): Final Report, Australia: Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.
- Gwynn, J., Blunden, S., Turner, N., Flood, V., Attia, J., Smith, W., D'Este, C., Wiggers, J. (2014). Many Rivers Diabetes Prevention Project 2007-2012: final report, August 2014, (pp. 1 - 46). Sydney, Australia: NSW Health.
- Gwynn, J., Blunden, S., Turner, N., Flood, V., Attia, J., Smith, W., D'Este, C., Wiggers, J. (2014). Many Rivers Diabetes Prevention Project 2007-2012: Short Report, August 2014, (pp. 1 - 13). Sydney, Australia: NSW Health.
2024
- Mackenzie, L., Gwynn, J., Gilroy, J. (2024). Experiences of occupational therapy students undertaking an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health module: embedding cultural responsiveness in professional curricula. Australian Health Review, 48(4), 374-380. [More Information]
- Parter, C., Gwynn, J., Wilson, S., C Skinner, J., Rix, E., Hartz, D. (2024). Putting Indigenous Cultures and Indigenous Knowledges Front and Centre to Clinical Practice: Katherine Hospital Case Example. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(1), 3. [More Information]
2023
- Macniven, R., Delbaere, K., Lewis, E., Radford, K., Canuto, K., Dickson, M., Richards, J., Gwynn, J., Withall, A. (2023). Community co-selection of measures to evaluate the health and wellbeing impact of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community running groups. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 34(1), 17-23. [More Information]
- Zhang, W., Low, L., Gwynn, J., Clemson, L. (2023). Development of a Safe Mobilisation Program to Improve Functional Mobility and Reduce Fall Risk in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment and Gait Disorders. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, 39.0 (1), 47-57. [More Information]
- Parter, C., Rambaldini, B., Wilson, S., Gwynn, J., C Skinner, J., Calma Ao, T. (2023). Heal country, heal our nation: Talking up racism☆. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 47(2). [More Information]
2022
- Osborn, E., Ritha, M., Macniven, R., Agius, T., Christie, V., Finlayson, H., Gwynn, J., Hunter, K., Martin, R., Moir, R., Tobin, S., et al (2022). "No One Manages It; We Just Sign Them Up and Do It": A Whole System Analysis of Access to Healthcare in One Remote Australian Community. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(5). [More Information]
- Gwynne, K., Rambaldini, B., Christie, V., Meharg, D., Gwynn, J., Dimitropoulos, Y., Parter, C., Skinner, J. (2022). Applying collective impact in Aboriginal health services and research: three case studies tell an important story. Public Health Research and Practice, 32(2). [More Information]
- Davies, A., Gwynn, J., Flood, V., Allman-Farinelli, M., Dickson, M., Turner, N., Lock, M. (2022). Evidence for improving food security in Aboriginal communities in NSW? A Rapid Review for Aboriginal Affairs NSW (An Evidence Check rapid review brokered by the Sax Institute for Aboriginal Affairs NSW).
2021
- Zhang, W., Low, L., Gwynn, J., Beveridge, A., Harper, E., Mills, N., Clemson, L. (2021). A Safe Mobilisation Program to Improve Functional Mobility and Reduce Fall Risks in Cognitively Impaired Older Adults with Higher Level Gait Disorders: A Pilot Study. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 50(4), 364-371. [More Information]
- Gwynn, J., Gwynne, K., Rodrigues, R., Thompson, S., Bolton, G., Dimitropoulos, Y., Dulvari, N., Finlayson, H., Hamilton, S., Lawrence, M., Macniven, R., Rambaldini, B., Freedman, B., et al (2021). Atrial Fibrillation in Indigenous Australians: A Multisite Screening Study Using a Single-Lead ECG Device in Aboriginal Primary Health Settings. Heart, Lung, and Circulation, 30(2), 267-274. [More Information]
- Nolan-Isles, D., Macniven, R., Hunter, K., Gwynn, J., Lincoln, M., Moir, R., Dimitropoulos, Y., Taylor, D., Agius, T., Finlayson, H., Tobin, S., Gwynne, K., et al (2021). Enablers and Barriers to Accessing Healthcare Services for Aboriginal People in New South Wales, Australia. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6), 1-13. [More Information]
2020
- Parter, C., Wilson, S., Gwynn, J., Skinner, J., Hartz, D. (2020). A research protocol - Indigenous culture, saves lives -Australian Indigenous cultural views and knowledge in health policy: A case study - the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013 - 2023. Journal of Indigenous Wellbeing, 5(1), 28-37.
- Gwynn, J., Skinner, J., Dimitropoulos, Y., Masoe, A., Rambaldini, B., Christie, V., Sohn, W., Gwynne, K. (2020). Community based programs to improve the oral health of Australian Indigenous adolescents: A systematic review and recommendations to guide future strategies. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 1-14. [More Information]
- Conte, K., Gwynn, J., Turner, N., Koller, C., Gillham, K. (2020). Making space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community health workers in health promotion. Health Promotion International, 35(3), 562-574. [More Information]
2019
- Zhang, W., Low, L., Schwenk, M., Mills, N., Gwynn, J., Clemson, L. (2019). A model of gait and falls in older adults with dementia. Age and Ageing, 48(Supp 4), iv9-iv12. [More Information]
- Gwynn, J., Sim, K., Searle, T., Senior, A., Lee, A., Brimblecombe, J. (2019). Effect of nutrition interventions on diet-related and health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: a systematic review. BMJ Open, 9(4), 1-15. [More Information]
- Macniven, R., Gwynn, J., Fujimoto, H., Hamilton, S., Thompson, S., Taylor, K., Lawrence, M., Finlayson, H., Bolton, G., Dulvari, N., Rambaldini, B., Freedman, B., Gwynne, K., et al (2019). Feasibility and acceptability of opportunistic screening to detect atrial fibrillation in Aboriginal adults. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 43(4), 313-318. [More Information]
2018
- Gwynn, J., Harvey, A., Gilroy, J., Penman, M., Russell, G. (2018). Indigenous Health and Critical Self-Reflection: Looking inwards to achieve culturally safe practice. National Centre for Cultural Competence Cultural Competence and the Higher Education Sector: Dilemmas, Policies and Practice, Not applicable: Not Applicable Records.
- Gifford, J., Gwynn, J., Hardy, L., Turner, N., Henderson, L., Innes-Hughes, C., Flood, V. (2018). Review of Short-Form Questions for the Evaluation of a Diet, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behaviour Intervention in a Community Program Targeting Vulnerable Australian Children. Children, 5(7), 1-21. [More Information]
- Macniven, R., Plater, S., Canuto, K., Dickson, M., Gwynn, J., Bauman, A., Richards, J. (2018). The "ripple effect": Health and community perceptions of the Indigenous Marathon Program on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, Australia. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 29(3), 304-313. [More Information]
2017
- Sapkota, S., Brien, J., Gwynn, J., Flood, V., Aslani, P. (2017). Perceived impact of Nepalese food and food culture in diabetes. Appetite, 113, 376-386. [More Information]
- Mah, B., Weatherall, L., Burrows, J., Blackwell, C., Gwynn, J., Wadhwa, P., Lumbers, E., Smith, R., Rae, K. (2017). Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in pregnant Australian Indigenous women residing in rural and remote New South Wales: A cross-sectional descriptive study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 57(5), 520-525. [More Information]
- Fletcher, R., Hammond, C., Faulkner, D., Turner, N., Shipley, L., Read, D., Gwynn, J. (2017). Stayin' on track: the feasibility of developing internet and mobile-phone based resources to support young Aboriginal fathers. Australian Journal of Primary Health, 23(4), 329-334. [More Information]
2016
- Flood, V., Hamzaid, N., O'Connor, H., Gwynn, J., Einfeld, S. (2016). Improving the food and nutrition intake of people with intellectual disabilities living in group homes in Australia: Scope for programme development. IASSIDD (International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) 15th World Congress, 2016, Melbourne, Australia: IASSIDD Asia.
- Flood, V., Gwynn, J., Gifford (nee Barnard), J., Turner, N., Hardy, L. (2016). Short survey instruments for children's diet and physical activity: the evidence? A Rapid Review for NSW Ministry of Health (An Evidence Check rapid review brokered by the Sax Institute for the NSW Ministry of Health).
2015
- Gwynn, J., Lock, M., Turner, N., Dennison, R., Coleman, C., Kelly, B., Wiggers, J. (2015). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community governance of health research: turning principles into practice. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 23(4), 235-242. [More Information]
2014
- Gwynn, J. (2014). Dhama Burru Nyinhi Gurraar (Eat Strong Live Long): Final Report, Australia: Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.
- Gwynn, J., Blunden, S., Turner, N., Flood, V., Attia, J., Smith, W., D'Este, C., Wiggers, J. (2014). Many Rivers Diabetes Prevention Project 2007-2012: final report, August 2014, (pp. 1 - 46). Sydney, Australia: NSW Health.
- Gwynn, J., Blunden, S., Turner, N., Flood, V., Attia, J., Smith, W., D'Este, C., Wiggers, J. (2014). Many Rivers Diabetes Prevention Project 2007-2012: Short Report, August 2014, (pp. 1 - 13). Sydney, Australia: NSW Health.
2012
- Louie, J., Gwynn, J., Turner, N., Cochrane, J., Wiggers, J., Flood, V. (2012). Dietary glycemic index and glycemic load among Indigenous and non-Indigenous children aged 10-12 years. Nutrition, 28(7-8), e14-e22. [More Information]
- Gwynn, J., Flood, V., D'Este, C., Attia, J., Turner, N., Cochrane, J., Louie, J., Wiggers, J. (2012). Poor food and nutrient intake among Indigenous and non-Indigenous rural Australian children. BMC Pediatrics, 12, 1-14. [More Information]
2011
- Louie, J., Flood, V., Turner, N., Everingham, C., Gwynn, J. (2011). Methodology for adding glycemic index values to 24-hour recalls. Nutrition, 27(1), 59-64. [More Information]
- Gwynn, J., Flood, V., D'Este, C., Attia, J., Turner, N., Cochrane, J., Wiggers, J. (2011). The reliability and validity of a short FFQ among Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous rural children. Public Health Nutrition, 14(3), 388-401. [More Information]
2010
- Gwynn, J., Hardy, L., Wiggers, J., Smith, W., D Este, C., Turner, N., Cochrane, J., Barker, D., Attia, J. (2010). The validation of a self-report measure and physical activity of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous rural children. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 34(Suppl 1), S57-S65. [More Information]
2005
- McCluskey, M., Gwynn, J. (2005). Occupational therapists working with indigenous Australians use communication strategies, assessment tools and assistive devices that are more culturally appropriate for this population. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 52(1), 91-92.
Selected Grants
2022
- The Poche Centre for Indigenous Health EMCR Travel Award 2023, Gwynn J, Faculty of Medicine and Health/The Poche Centre for Indigenous Health EMCR Travel Award
- Early Atrial fibrillation Screening for Indigenous people (EASI), Gwynne K, Gwynn J, Freedman B, Nalliah C, Rambaldini B, Skinner J, Ward K, McCowen D, Orchard J, Lowres N, Carlson B, Lowres N, Department of Health and Aged Care (Federal - administered by NHMRC)/MRFF - 2021 Cardiovascular Health Grant Opportunity
2019
- Retention of the Aboriginal health and disability workforce, Gilroy J, Lincoln M, Gwynn J, Bulkeley K, Rambaldini B, Gwynne K, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Indigenous (IN)
In the media
All The Dirt Gardening, Sustainability and Food - Rockefeller Food Vision Prize interview as an Australian semi-finalists. Published 4th December 2020 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rockefeller-foundation-food-system-vision-prize-2050/id1227283335?i=1000501376158
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. 2NUR interview – 30 mins 27th May 2021 TOPIC