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NURSING WEEK: Research excellence lauded

TWU nursing professor Richard Sawatzky receives kudos
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Dr. Richard Sawatzky is a nursing professor at TWU who was recently acknowledge nationally for his research efforts. (Special to Langley Advance Times)

A nursing professor from a Langley university has been bestowed a career achievement award for his efforts in putting people first in health care.

Trinity Western University’s Dr. Rick Sawatzky was recognized as an “exceptional researcher” in the area of health service and policy research by CIHR’s Institute of Health Services and Policy Research.

“Throughout my career as a registered nurse, researcher, and educator, I have been motivated by a desire to find ways of re-orienting system-driven health care that focuses on what works for a majority of the populace, to person-centred health care that pays attention to those whose needs are not being met and that promotes greater agency to patients in identifying priorities for their own health care,” Sawatzky said, humbled by the award.

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As Canada Research chair in person-centred outcomes since 2011, Sawatzky has become a leader in health measurement and quality of life assessments in health care.

His most recent patient-oriented research project seeks to develop and evaluate a novel methodology for equitable people-centred health measurement that will serve as a foundational springboard to ultimately advance health equity and inform people-centred healthcare.

This research engages a large team of patients, clinicians, health-care leaders, government decision makers, industry, and interdisciplinary researchers from around the world who are collectively motivated to advance equitable, people-centered healthcare as a societal priority for the 21st century.

As professor of nursing at TWU, Sawatzky has integrated his research expertise and clinical background in palliative care into teaching courses on nursing care of older adults and research methodology.

He is also affiliate professor with the Centre for Person-Centred Care at the University of Gothenburg’s Salgrenska Academy, head of the patient-reported outcomes program at the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences, and lead of the patient-centred measurement methods cluster with the British Columbia SUPPORT Unit.

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The Barer-Flood Prize is named in honour of the leadership, vision, and innovative contributions of the first two scientific directors of CIHR-IHSPR, Morris Barer and Colleen Flood.

This year, the Barer-Flood Prize was adapted to recognize and support research excellence among Canadian senior-career investigators who have accumulated more than 15 years of independent research experience, and awarded to the highest ranking senior-career investigators in CIHR’s project grant competition.

This prize is a supplemental grant to support research and/or knowledge mobilization.

Sawatzky is one of two recipients who will receive the award during an upcoming conference taking place virtually at the end of May.

He’s joined in recognition alongside Dr. Walter Wodchis, who hails from Toronto.

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