On Friday, 17 November, the Sant Cugat Campus hosted the seventh edition of the Vila-Saborit Foundation Nursing Research Awards, an event that recognises research work and supports research in the field of nursing.

This year’s call received a total of 19 applications distributed in the categories of best doctoral theses and best final master’s degree projects, corresponding to the projects carried out by master’s and doctoral students from seven different Catalan universities. Their projects were evaluated by a jury of research experts from the Sagrat Cor University Hospital, the HM Delfos Hospital, the CAP Sardenya, the Terrassa Healthcare Consortium and the General University Hospital of Catalonia, members of Catalan healthcare institutions such as the Barcelona Official Professional Association for Nurses (COIB), and holders of PhD in Nursing from those Catalan universities that offer studies in Nursing.

The jury for the awards was made up by Encarna Rodríguez, director of the Nursing Department, UIC Barcelona; Maria Antònia Martorell, lecturer and researcher, Universitat Rovira i Virgili; Montserrat Cantero, director of hospitalisation processes, Sagrat Cor University Hospital; Ester Mateo, professor of the bachelor's degree in nursing at the Tecnocampus in Mataró, and Maria Romeu, vice-president of the COIB.

Of the twelve candidates selected in the doctoral thesis category, first prize was awarded to Neus Calpe for her research project "Effectiveness of urinary catheter suction in the treatment of urinary infection, injuries to the urinary tract and discomfort of the critically ill patient and related perceptions of intensive care nurses." First runner-up was awarded to the thesis "Design and validation of a predictive risk model for fibromyalgia", presented by Narly Benachi, and the second runner-up went to Cecilia Cuzco for her project titled "Impact of nurse intervention on the empowerment of the critically ill patient when being discharged from the intensive care unit."

As for the final master’s degree project category, seven applications were received, and first prize went to Francisco Paredes and his project "Evaluation of the effectiveness of a formative intervention and implementation of a ‘bedside shift change’ methodology in intensive care units." Mireia Pessarodona received first runner-up for her project "Assessment of nocturnal rest in an intermediate care hospital", and second runner-up went to Sandra López for her research project "Multicentric study on advanced practice nursing activities in paediatric home care units."

As stated by the UIC Barcelona Department of Nursing director, Encarna Rodriguez, “We are pleased to celebrate this year’s awards, promoted by the Vila-Saborit Foundation with the cooperation of the Sagrat Cor University Hospital. These awards show their commitment to nursing research and increase the knowledge of nursing science.”