Trinity Western University is pleased to announce that Dr. Richard (Rick) Sawatzky, Professor of Nursing at TWU, has been selected by CIHR's Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) as winner of the 2021 Barer-Flood Prize in Health Services and Policy Research.
The Barer-Flood Prize is a career achievement award that honours and recognizes an exceptional researcher in the area of health services and policy research. The award 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. In their roles as Scientific Directors, Dr. Barer and Dr. Flood made tremendous contributions towards advancing the field of health services and policy research in Canada, building a community of world-class researchers, and designing innovative new programs that foster evidence-informed decision making and improved health and health care for Canadians.
Dr. Richard (Rick) Sawatzky has been selected by CIHR's Institute of Health Services & Policy Research (IHSPR) as winner of the 2021 Barer-Flood Prize in Health Services and Policy Research.
This year, the Barer-Flood Prize was adapted to recognize and support research excellence among Canadian Senior-Career Investigators who have accumulated over 15 years of independent research experience, and awarded to the highest ranking Senior-Career Investigators in CIHR's Project Grant competition working within the mandate of IHSPR. This prize is a supplemental grant to support research and/or knowledge mobilization. Dr. Sawatzky is one of two recipients. The award will be recognized at the upcoming Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research 2022 Annual Conference, taking place virtually from May 31 to June 2, 2022.
About Dr. Richard Sawatzky
"Throughout my career as a registered nurse, researcher, and educator, I have been motivated by a desire to find ways of reorienting system-driven healthcare that focuses on what works for a majority of the populace, to person-centred healthcare that pays attention to those whose needs are not being met and that promotes greater agency to patients in identifying priorities for their own healthcare," said Dr. Richard Sawatzky.
As Canada Research Chair in Person-Centred Outcomes since 2011, Dr. Richard Sawatzky has become a leader in health measurement and quality of life assessments in healthcare.
Dr. Sawatzky's team-based program of research includes:
- Methodological research to improve measurement and analysis of patient-reported outcomes
- Mixed-methods clinical research to integrate quality of life assessments and person-centred digital health solutions
- Knowledge synthesis and translation to support use of person-centred outcome measures in healthcare (www.healthyqol.com).
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, healthcare 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 Trinity Western University, Dr. 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.
See this award announcement at the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences.
On behalf of Trinity Western University, we offer the warmest congratulations to Dr. Richard Sawatzky!
