Trinity Western University Nursing professor and researcher Dr. Richard Sawatzky has been named Canada Research Chair in Equitable People-Centred Health Measurement. Dr. Sawatzky’s advancement to Tier 1 Chair was announced by the federal government on March 13 at an event recognizing the nation’s outstanding research and its importance to Canadian societies.
Ensuring better representation of patient perspectives in health care
As a Canada Research Chair (CRC) at Trinity Western and world leader in his field, Dr. Sawatzky’s research focuses on novel methods for equitably measuring diverse perspectives of health and health care.
Underserved populations, including people with pre-existing chronic conditions and older adults, are more likely to experience health inequities or preventable differences in health status due to the conditions and systems in which people are born and live.
The World Health Organization has recognized equitable, people-centered health care to be a societal priority. To meet this need, health care services must be tailored to reflect the unique contexts and experiences of diverse people.
This CRC program led by Dr. Sawatzky, who is a registered nurse with a background in palliative and person-centred care, seeks to change how we measure subjective health care needs, experiences, and outcomes from diverse perspectives. The program brings together a large team of researchers, health care providers, and patients to collaborate on improving how we measure subjective health care needs, experiences, and outcomes from diverse perspectives.
"...We are working to center the patient’s voice in the design and implementation of health care measurements.”
Tailoring health care measurements to promote equity
To advance equitable health care, Dr. Sawatzky and his team are researching new ways of measuring health that more appropriately represent diverse people’s perspectives of their health and health care experiences.
This includes measurements of individuals’ symptoms, physical and mental health, and wellbeing, as well as their experience with their health care, for example, whether they perceive to be treated with dignity, respect, and compassion.
“These perceptions can only truly be measured from the perspective of the person receiving care,” Dr. Sawatzky explains, “That is why we are working to center the patient’s voice in the design and implementation of health care measurements.”
Tailoring assessments of health care needs
This involves using online health information platforms to tailor assessments of health care needs, outcomes and experiences to individuals’ social and health circumstances. By using these platforms, diverse people will be able to share tailored information about their health and health care experiences with health care providers, leading to improved care that is informed by their unique situation.
The research also involves establishing a learning alliance by which patients and health care providers work together with the research team to integrate equitable people-centred health measurement for people who have chronic conditions. Overall, the results from this research will serve as a springboard for advancing health equity by measuring what matters to diverse individuals and thereby informing people-centred health care.
"TWU aspires to be an international centre of scholarly excellence, where discovery research, applied research, integration research, and research creation generates innovative knowledge in service of the world’s present and emerging needs."
International, national, and interdisciplinary partnerships
“TWU aspires to be an international centre of scholarly excellence, where discovery research, applied research, integration research, and research creation generates innovative knowledge in service of the world’s present and emerging needs. The Canada Research Chairs program provides critical support to help strengthen the ability of TWU to achieve our research goals in the area of equitable health care and inclusive excellence” Associate Provost Research and Graduate Studies Dr. Richard Chandra remarks.
The new research program on Equitable People-Centred Health Measurement promotes collaboration among a team of interdisciplinary and international researchers and stakeholders. Research investigators come from the United States, Australia, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The program also enhances research partnerships with Canadian government agencies and provincial health care agencies, as well as multiple universities and industry partners.
Promoting scholarly community at TWU
Furthermore, the research program promotes a strong scholarly community among researchers at Trinity Western’s School of Nursing and other TWU scholars.
At the School of Nursing, Dr. Sawatzky is co-leading a project with Dr. Kendra Rieger funded by Canada’s Digital Supercluster on the “Development of an Indigenous Health Ecosystem” and collaborating with Dr. Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham (Principal applicant) on a SSHRC Insight Development grant on “The welfare and security of persons with albinism: Developing a Research-Policy Network to address the interplay of spiritual/cultural practices and human rights.”
Fostering the next generation of researchers
The Canada Research Chairs Program supports both innovative research and the training of professionals from many fields. The new Chair in Equitable People-Centred Health Measurement at TWU builds upon a previous CRC program, Person-Centred Health Outcomes, also led by Dr. Sawatzky, which has resulted in funds from industry, government partners, and granting organizations to support over 40 trainees from disciplines ranging from nursing, epidemiology, anthropology, and psychology, and provided many opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows to engage with professional and academic communities across the world.
Likewise, the new Chair in Equitable People-Centred Health Measurement, supported by $1.4 mil. in funding over a seven-year period, will continue to foster the next generation of researchers and specialists who will help strengthen Canadian societies through better seeing and meeting the health care needs of diverse populations.
Advancing equitable health care for all people
Dr. Sawatzky highlights how the CRC program in Equitable People-Centred Health Measurement is guided by the fundamental goal of the nursing profession to advance equitable health care for all people. “This requires establishing equitable and inclusive approaches to ‘measuring what matters’ to different people,” he explains. “The CRC program is designed to address this by developing equitable people-centred approaches to health measurement that combines leading-edge nursing and interdisciplinary scholarship about the science of measuring what matters to different people about their health care needs, outcomes and experiences.”
For information about research activities, publications, and knowledge translation materials by Dr. Sawatzky and his team, please visit www.healthyqol.com.
See also: The Government of Canada announcement.
About TWU School of Nursing
Caring for the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities is both motivating and rewarding. We give you the knowledge and skills necessary for a nursing career in hospitals and community-based settings and the practical experience required to be highly sought after when you graduate. Learn more at TWU School of Nursing.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is a global Christian liberal arts university. We are dedicated to equipping students to discover meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. Drawing upon the riches of the Christian tradition, seeking to unite faith and reason through teaching and scholarship, Trinity Western University is a degree-granting research institution offering liberal arts and sciences as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four locations in Canada: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Instagram @trinitywestern, Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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