A Thompson Rivers University faculty member has been awarded a prestigious Canada Research Chair to look into ways to improve health equity and quality of life for people living with dementia in rural areas.
Dr. Juanita Dawne Bascu, who joined the faculty at TRU in September, is the sixth CRC recipient in school history.
Bascu’s CRC in nursing and population health comes with $600,000 in federal funding.
“Improving stigma and knowledge of dementia in rural communities requires local input and lived experience, and the development of interventions to address not only the biomedical determinants, but also the social determinants of health such as education and social support,” Bascu said in a news release.
Over five years, Bascu hopes to develop and evaluate interventions that will help older people in small communities be able to age in place.
TRU President Brett Fairbairn said the award is another feather in the university’s cap, and proof that Bascu’s work has the potential to bring about life-changing opportunities for people in need.
“It is incredibly exciting to see another TRU faculty member awarded such an important and distinguished honour as a Canada Research Chair,” he said in the release.
“This award will enable Dr. Bascu to pursue her work more intently, something that will inevitably benefit all of us. Dr. Bascu’s research in health for rural older adults is meaningful and will impact people’s lives. I am grateful that the federal government agrees.”
The CRC program invests up to $311 million per year to attract and retain researched with the potential to lead in their field.
Bascu was oner of 29 CRC recipients announced Wednesday by Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. The recipients represented 22 universities across Canada, with $6 million allocated in total.
In addition to the CRC award, Bascu also received $70,000 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to support the development of a Population Health and Aging Rural Research Centre on TRU’s campus.
