Dr Melanie Hawkins

Biography

Dr Hawkins is a postdoctoral researcher in the Centre for Global Health and Equity (CGHE). She has 20 years of experience in qualitative health services research, health program evaluation, and questionnaire development. Her PhD research investigated questionnaire validity testing theory and methodology, and this research is now influential in advancing the practice of measurement in health.

Dr Hawkins has worked in health literacy measurement and intervention co-design for 10 years. She was involved in the development of the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ), the Conversational Health Literacy Tool (CHAT), and she contributed to the development of the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire (eHLQ). As an evaluator, she has managed projects commissioned by the primary health sector, Australian universities, and the Australian Government. As a researcher, she has worked on projects for the Victorian State Government, non-profit organisations, and Australian regional health services, including the Ophelia (Optimising Health Literacy and Access) 3-year pilot project. Dr Hawkins is the Swinburne manager of the Crohn’s & Colitis Australia Ophelia project to co-design improvements in health information and services for people with inflammatory bowel disease. She collaborates with researchers in Australia and internationally on projects about health literacy measurement, the Ophelia process, and the World Health Organization (WHO) National Health Literacy Demonstration Projects (NHLDPs).