2022 Barer-Flood Prize in Health Services and Policy Research

Recognizing and supporting research excellence among Canadian Senior-Career Investigators working within Health Services and Policy Research

The CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (CIHR-IHSPR) is pleased to announce that Dr. Kelli Stajduhar is the recipient of the 2022 Barer-Flood Prize in Health Services and Policy Research.

The Barer-Flood Prize is named in honour of the leadership, vision and innovative contributions of the first two Scientific Directors of CIHR-IHSPR, Drs. 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.

In 2022, the Barer-Flood Prize was adapted to recognize and support research excellence among Canadian Senior-Career Investigator and awarded to the highest ranking Senior-Career Investigator in CIHR’s Project Grant competition who identifies as a woman and is working within the mandate of IHSPR. This prize is a supplemental grant to support research and/or knowledge mobilization.

In recognizing and supporting research excellence, IHSPR Career Awards are a key strategy to help advance IHSPR’s 2021-26 Strategic Plan: Accelerate Health Care System Transformation through Research to Achieve the Quadruple Aim and Health Equity for All and CIHR’s 2021-31 Strategic Plan: A Vision for a Healthier Future.

About the Recipient

Dr. Kelli Stajduhar

Dr. Kelli Stajduhar is a Professor in the School of Nursing and Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health at the University of Victoria. She has worked in oncology, palliative care, and gerontology for 30 years as a practicing nurse, educator, and researcher. Her clinical work and research has focused on health service needs for those at the end-of-life and their families, and on the needs of people who experience structural inequities at the end of life. She is lead investigator on multiple research projects including national and international research collaborations on equity-oriented palliative care, family caregiving, integration of a palliative approach to care across health sectors and studies on access to end-of-life care for people facing structural vulnerabilities. Dr. Stajduhar is the recipient of numerous awards including the Craigdarroch Award of Excellence for Knowledge Mobilization, the Award of Excellence for Nursing Research from the College of Registered Nurses of BC and the Canadian Association of University School of Nursing, and Academic of the Year from the Confederation of University Faculty Associations. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the Canadian Academy of Nursing and is the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Palliative Approaches to Care in Aging and Community Health.

Dr. Stajduhar’s CIHR-awarded research aims to understand how we can facilitate dying-in-place for structurally vulnerable older adults. Older adults impacted by intersecting inequities like racism, classism, ageism, and ableism, and who experience social disadvantages like homelessness and poverty, face disproportionate barriers in accessing care. While many Canadians are able to be cared for and die at home through support of community-based and palliative care services, there is little known about how best to facilitate care and dying-in-place for vulnerable and marginalized older adults who are on a palliative trajectory. Through this work, Dr. Stajduhar’s team hopes to create actionable policy and program recommendations that will promote equitable approaches to care.

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