Rachel Baffsky

Dr. Rachel Baffsky is an implementation scientist and psychology researcher at the School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales (UNSW). She holds a PhD in Population Health (awarded February 2024), MPH, and BPsych (Hons). As a Post-doctoral Fellow since 2023, she focuses on optimizing community-based interventions in hepatitis C, mental health, domestic violence, and injury prevention. Her work has translated to better health, educational, and social outcomes for youth and women both domestically and internationally, demonstrating significant transdisciplinary impact.

Dr. Baffsky's educational background includes:

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine (awarded February 2024, UNSW)
• Master of Public Health (2016, The University of Sydney)
• Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) (2012, The University of Sydney)

Dr. Baffsky specializes in implementation science to optimize the uptake, quality, and sustainment of community-based interventions. Her research focuses on areas including hepatitis C, mental health, domestic and family violence, and injury prevention. Using mixed methods research, she co-designs, implements and evaluates evidence-based interventions that enhance the social determinants of health for marginalized populations. Much of her work centers on school-based mental health programs and community interventions, with particular emphasis on youth and women's health outcomes. Her approach combines co-design methods with hybrid effectiveness/implementation studies to develop practical implementation strategies that can be scaled across diverse settings.

Dr. Baffsky's recent research portfolio demonstrates a strong focus on translating implementation science into real-world settings. Her work spans mental health interventions in schools, hepatitis C point-of-care testing, domestic violence response systems, and injury prevention initiatives, particularly in the Pacific region. A recurring theme is her commitment to co-design approaches that involve end-users and stakeholders throughout the research process, ensuring interventions are culturally appropriate and sustainable. Her publications reflect growing expertise in hybrid implementation-effectiveness studies and process evaluations that bridge the gap between research and practice.

Dr. Baffsky has received several notable awards and recognitions:

• NHMRC PhD Scholarship (2021-2023)
• Black Dog Institute Knowledge Translation Award (2022)
• Black Dog Institute Emerge Research Award (2022)
• Black Dog Institute Open Access Funding (2022)
• Australian Health Promotion Association Student Personal Development Award (2021)
• Charles Perkins Centre Summer Research Scholarship (2012)

Dr. Baffsky has secured significant grant funding for her research, including the $134,625 NHMRC/MRFF grant "Enhancing point-of-care testing for hepatitis C infection: the OPTIMISE study" (2023-2024). She has also led multiple projects related to school-based mental health programs, including the implementation of the Good Behaviour Game across 300+ NSW primary schools. Her research on domestic and family violence during the COVID-19 pandemic and contributions to co-designing a trauma recovery center for women demonstrate her commitment to addressing critical public health issues through collaborative research approaches.

Dr. Baffsky has been actively involved in several research teams and initiatives. Between 2018-2020, she led monitoring and evaluation for the Creating Chances program, serving over 2,500 disadvantaged children and adolescents in NSW. She has collaborated extensively with the NSW Department of Education, Black Dog Institute, and international partners including the World Health Organization. Her work with Football United programs demonstrates her commitment to sports-based positive youth development approaches. Currently, she is focused on enhancing hepatitis C point-of-care testing practices across Australia through her Post-doctoral Fellowship.