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AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS
from Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing Research Report 2020-2022
by Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
In 2021, Dr. Sioban Nelson was named President of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and Interim Director of the Council of Canadian Academies. A former dean of the Faculty of Nursing, Dr. Nelson is a leading nurse scholar, whose contributions to Canadian nursing and health sciences have been instrumental and fundamental. Among them, she has been a commissioner on the Canadian Nurses Association National Expert Commission for the Future of the Health Care system, and co-chair of the Assessment Committee of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences on Scope of Practice in the Health Professions. See the full profile on page 26.
Inducted into the American Academy of Nursing
Dr. Michelle Acorn was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing in 2021. An adjunct professor at the Faculty of Nursing, Dr. Acorn is a former Chief Nursing Officer for the province of Ontario and is currently the Chief Nurse of the International Council of Nurses.
Inducted in to the Canadian Academy of Nursing Charter Fellows
The Canadian Academy of Nursing, established in 2020, is dedicated to identifying, educating, supporting and celebrating nursing leaders. Dr. Sioban Nelson, former Dean of the Faculty of Nursing, is one of the original 13 Charter Fellows of the Academy, supporting its development and structure, particularly through the Fellowship program.
In 2020, the first class of Fellows was inducted into the Academy; these include Dr. Linda McGillis Hall, Dr. Lianne Jeffs, and Dr. Bonnie Stevens, and Dr. Michelle Acorn, and Judith Shamian. Dr. McGillis Hall is an internationally renowned leader in nursing health services and systems research. She is currently leading research into the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on nurses and their working conditions. Dr. Bonnie Stevens is recognized around the world for her pathbreaking research into infant and child pain. She is the Associate Chief of Nursing Research and a Senior Scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children. Dr. Lianne Jeffs is the inaugural Research and Innovation Lead and Scholar in Residence at Sinai Health whose research focuses on system performance and organizational learning. In 2021, the second class of Fellows was inducted; these include former Dean and Professor Emerita Gail Donner, former Dean and Professor Emerita Linda O’Brien-Pallas.
Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology
Dr. Doris Howell received the CAPO Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021, in recognition for her robust and impactful research focusing on improving the patient’s experience of cancer care, through better health care delivery and the ability to self-manage cancer symptoms.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Dr. Martine Puts received the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Mid-Career Investigator Prize in Research in Aging in 2021. The award recognizes her research in caring for frail older adults with cancer. Dr. Puts holds the Canada Research Chair in Care of Frail Older Adults; her research program aims to improve health and quality of life for older adults as the under go cancer treatment. Read more about her research on page 27.
Ontario Early Researcher Award
Dr. Kristin Cleverley received an Early Researcher Award in 2021. The award, funded by Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities, recognizes her excellence and the importance of her research. Dr. Cleverley leads research into youth mental health, particularly the care they receive (or do not receive) as they transition from receiving childhood mental health services to adult mental health services. She holds the CAMH Psychiatric and Addiction Nursing Research Chair.
Council of Ontario University Programs in Nursing
Dr. Kristin Cleverley was the 2021 recipient of the Council of Ontario University Programs in Nursing Scholarship into Practice Award. The award recognizes the impact of scholarship on nursing practice by a faculty member in a COUPN university program. Dr. Cleverley’s innovative and patient-oriented research program in mental health addresses key issues facing youth and their care as they transition to adulthood.
Registered Nurses Association of Ontario
Dr. Martine Puts received the RNAO Leadership Award in Nursing Research in 2021. The award recognizes and highlights excellence in nursing research, research knowledge dissemination and contributions to the profession. Dr. Puts is dedicated to improving the health of older adults with cancer, as well as building capacity in geriatric nursing research and practice.
STTI Lambda Pi at large
Dr. Martine Puts received the STTI Dorothy M. Pringle Award for Excellence in Nursing Research in 2021. Dr. Puts’ research has a strong patient-oriented focus, and she engages older adults in the research process. She has a particular interest in implementing comprehensive geriatric assessment to improve quality of life for older adults undergoing cancer treatment.
Israel Cancer Research Foundation
Dr. Kelly Metcalfe received the Wendy Lack Women of Action Scientific Award from the Israel Cancer Research Fund in 2021. Dr. Metcalfe, Bloomberg Professor of Cancer Genetics, leads world-leading innovative research in hereditary breast cancer and the clinical and psychosocial implications of genetic testing for mutations (e.g., BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2). She is the first nurse to receive this award.
INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
STTI International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame
Dr. Doris Howell was inducted into the STTI International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in 2022. Dr. Howell leads research to improve the patient experience of cancer care, by improving systems, such as better care delivery systems, but also through clinical interventions. She also focuses on empowering patients to manage their own cancer symptoms through nurse-led behavioural self-management interventions.
History Lessons for Managers Coping with COVID-19
Dr. Sioban Nelson received the Best Essay Award on History Lessons for Managers coping with COVID-19 in 2020 for her work titled “Nursing infectious disease: a history with three lessons”.
American Association for the History of Nursing
Dr. Sioban Nelson received the Mary Adelaide Nutting Award for Exemplary
University of Toronto Critical Care Medicine Training Program
Dr. Craig Dale received the Interprofessional Research Excellence Award in 2021. Dr. Dale’s research is centered on fundamental patient care of adults who are critically ill, often in intensive care. He particularly focuses on oral hygiene, pain and communication.
Historical Research and Writing from the American Association for the History of Nursing in 2021. She was recognized for her work “Nursing in Ethiopia in the PostColonial Era”, published in the Canadian Bulletin of Medical History. Dr. Nelson is a highly respected nursing scholar, whose work on the history of nursing includes such works as the acclaimed “Say Little, Do Much: Nursing, nuns and hospitals in the nineteenth century”.
FIRST NURSE ELECTED PRESIDENT
OF THE CANADIAN ACADEMY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
Professor Sioban Nelson of the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing is the first nurse to be elected President of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS), Canada’s preeminent scientific and scholarly society that leverages the expertise of leading Canadian health scientists. Her one year term ended September 2022. For Nelson, this prestigious honour builds on a decades-long successful career as an academic leader and recognizes her commitment to using science-based decision making to improve the health of all Canadians. “The pandemic has heightened the importance of scholarly and scientific societies,” says Nelson. “We are living in a moment where there is increasing public distrust in science, and we have an opportunity to shift that by using our collective expertise and scientific evidence, to foster trust and support for policy-makers and governments in their decisions.” As a leader in health care, Nelson has always been drawn to tackling important challenges, and in this new role, is looking forward to advancing some key priorities for the CAHS, including a commitment to addressing equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism within the Academy through the creation of a new task force.
Nelson is also keenly focused on utilizing the multi-disciplinary foundation of the CAHS and the enriching learning opportunities available, to improve collaboration and create a lasting and positive impact on the health concerns of Canadians.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” says Nelson, “the health care system is facing historical pressure, but we also have an opportunity to leverage the expertise of Canadian health scientists, pave the way for the next generation of leaders, and continue to contribute to improving the health of Canadians.”
CIHR MID-CAREER INVESTIGATOR PRIZE FUNDS NEW RESEARCH INTO RECOVERY OF OLDER ADULTS AFTER SURGERY
In 2021, Associate Professor Martine Puts was awarded the Mid-Career Investigator Prize in Research in Aging by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for her project “The Frail sub-study of the Fit After Surgery.” The $50,000 grant is awarded to the highest-ranked mid-career investigator, a significant achievement for Puts who is renowned for her work supporting older adults and their quality of care. Using a mixed methods approach, Puts seeks to evaluate the functional recovery and care needs of older adults who undergo surgery, and will also include an evaluation of the needs of their caregivers. The goal of such a study, Puts says, is to establish how well older adults recover from major elective surgery, including measuring outcomes such as changes in their mobility, unmet needs, and hospital readmissions. “We want to inform guidance around risk assessments for surgery in older adults by making sure we are measuring their quality of life during recovery,” says Puts. “There is currently very little evidence about how well older people recover and I believe it is important for patients to be aware of the recovery before they agree to surgery that could be life-altering.” In Canada, the population of adults over the age of 80 is increasing steadily, with many in this age group being considered candidates for major elective surgeries including cancer and vascular surgeries among others. “Previously patients over 80 would not have been considered for these surgeries,” says Puts, “however we now have people living longer, and surgeons need better guidelines when discussing treatment options with older patients which may or may not include surgery.” Using an outcomes-based questionnaire, Puts and her team will look at the functional trajectory of older adults after surgery for a period of six months, which will include specific details about how they are managing at home and what kinds of support they are getting. They will also conduct a series of phone interviews, as well as use a well-known concept in geriatrics called life space mobility, that will measure not only the mobility of patients and where they go, but also their psychosocial well-being. “Often, when older adults do not feel well enough to leave the home, that can be an early predictor of poor outcomes,” says Puts. There are options to support recovery such as pre-rehabilitation programs, nutrition programs, online support groups, and online exercise groups, however not all patients or their caregivers are aware or able to participate in them. What is of the utmost importance according to Puts, is to use the findings from this substudy to determine where the gaps in care are and what needs are not being met for both older adults and their caregivers in order to design new interventions to improve well-being after surgery. “We know from previous research that older adults prioritize maintaining their quality of life and cognitive function,” says Puts, “our study will aim to support them in making evidencebased decisions about their care plans and future.”
Salima Hemani, a PhD candidate at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, has become the first nurse to win the SANSAR Burgundy Young Investigator Award recognizing the impact of her research on the health of the South Asian community. SANSAR, the South Asian Network Supporting Awareness and Research, focuses specifically on promoting cardiovascular health in the South Asian Community, through education, community awareness and research. Hemani’s own work has shown members of the South Asian community that it may be feasible to mitigate an early diagnosis of hypertension through education and awareness. “I’m very hopeful that with this award, I will be able to carry this work forward and continue to use digital technology, mobile apps and more to make an impact with preventative strategies to reduce hypertension in South Asian communities,” says Hemani. “It illustrates the potential impact of research by nurses.” Through a pilot prevention study aimed at examining the effect of community based low-sodium dietary interventions among hypertensive individuals in the regions of Markham and Scarborough, Hemani successfully implemented an education and awareness program aimed at reducing hypertension in participants over a period of six weeks. She also surveyed 354 South Asian Canadians and found that they had a mean sodium intake of 2.117+/1896 mg/day and that most respondents lacked sodiumrelated knowledge. To address this high-risk population, Hemani created virtual modules in collaboration with South Asian dietitians, to teach participants about cooking with low sodium options, reading labels to assess sodium content, and making small weekly changes to their diet to reduce their sodium intake. “A lot of current materials about hypertension and prevention are not culturally relevant,” says Hemani, “They do not always account for the different types of foods and diets that people are used to consuming which is why we wanted to offer this very culturally specific approach.” “Hemani’s research indicates the unique positioning of nurses to lead preventive strategies to decrease risk for chronic diseases such as hypertension across racial and ethnic populations in Canada. These strategies can reduce inequality and improve health and wellbeing,” says Monica Parry, Associate Professor at the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and Hemani’s PhD supervisor. The virtual classes were successful for participants in terms of accessibility and acceptability. It leaves Hemani with the motivation to expand her program of research geographically and introduce in-person and digitally enabled options.
A lot of current materials about hypertension and prevention are not culturally relevant, we wanted to offer a very culturally specific approach.”
Salima Hemani
PHD CANDIDATE WINS JUDITH KAUFMANN AWARD
FOR HER EXPLORATION OF SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES
Bloomberg Nursing PhD candidate Julie Moore is the inaugural recipient of Sinai Health’s Judith Kaufmann Science of Care Internship. This award recognizes Moore’s doctoral research project which aims to understand the symptoms of critically ill patients with hematologic malignancies. Her project will use a mixed methods approach to obtain data, including both qualitative and quantitative data that will come directly from patients. “Giving these patient’s a voice and allowing them to tell us exactly what they experience and need is essential to improving their quality of life, and to the best of my knowledge, is the first time anyone has looked at symptom improvement in this critically ill population,” says Moore of the significance of her study.
Moore notes that prior to the 1990’s patients with hematologic malignancies were excluded from ICU’s globally, deemed “too sick” to benefit from ICU care. Decades later there have been significant advancements in diagnoses and treatment of this disease, and as a result patients are now not only receiving care in ICU but surviving their ICU stay as well. During an ICU stay in hospital, patients, whether they have a hematologic malignancy or not, can experience an array of symptoms that include pain, dry mouth, dyspnea, nausea and vomiting, and delirium, all of which Moore indicates are unpleasant to experience. While a fair amount of research has been done to examine symptoms of the general population, it is not true of those with hematologic malignancies. Knowing what this patient population experiences is imperative to providing personalized and targeted care while they are in the ICU, which will improve not only their quality of life and care during their hospital stay, but also their quality of life once discharged. “We know from previous research that symptom experiences in the ICU have a direct relationship with the quality of life of those patients in the future,” says Moore. “Addressing this gap in symptom knowledge will, I hope, be a significant contribution to the field.”
