On July 18 in downtown Toronto, Professor Martine Puts of the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Society of Nursing’s International Nurse Researcher’s Hall of Fame.
Created in 2010, the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame recognizes nurse researchers who have achieved significant international recognition for their work, and its impact on the profession and the population it seeks to support.
A leader in geriatric nursing research
Puts is honoured for the impact of her research in geriatric nursing care, and the ways in which she aims to improve the health and wellbeing of older adults, particularly those with cancer.
“Being inducted into the nurse researcher hall of fame alongside many other notable international researchers, is an honour. It is also wonderful to see that research focused on improving the health and care of older adults is being recognized for its importance and its impact on this population,” says Puts who is also the Canada Research Chair in the Care of Frail Older Adults.
Puts has been a leader in patient-centered research for many years, engaging older adults with lived experience to ensure that they and their caregivers are included as part of her research studies. A recent study led by Puts and published in JAMA Network evaluated the post-surgical recovery experience of 289 older adults and their caregivers from across 17 different hospital sites in Canada. Her findings showed that for most older adults, their post-surgical recovery time was much longer than expected.
“The health system often assumes that caregivers and older adults will know what to expect and what to do during their recovery, but our study found that there is very limited guidance about recovery, and hardly any training on post-surgical wound care,” says Puts.
Puts also currently leads the SOAR study, which is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). This study aims to improve older adults’ progression through complex health situations including cancer care or surgery, using evidence-based geriatric assessments and remote exercise and education for patients and their caregivers.
“Martine has contributed to substantial and novel scientific literature on the care of frail older adults, and is a valued mentor to student and junior researchers. I can think of no one more deserving of this international honour,” says Kelly Metcalfe, Associate Dean of Research and External Relations.
In addition to many of her research accolades, Puts is also recognized for her role as a leader in the space of Canadian geriatric care. She is a co-founder of the Canadian Network on Aging and Cancer, which was created to build capacity in geriatric oncology,