Congratulations to Dr. Idevania Costa for receiving the Silver medal for Outstanding Achievements in Patient Care by the JWC and WUWHS Awards

Congratulations to Dr. Idevania Costa, Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing, on being awarded the Silver medal for “Outstanding Achievements in Patient Care” by the Journal of Wound Care and World Union of Wound Healing Societies Awards on February 20.

This prestigious award event is considered “the World Wound Care Olympics”. This award is open to all those, around the globe, who have made an outstanding contribution to any area of wound care putting patient at the centre of their work.

Dr. Costa received this award in recognition of the significant contributions she has been making to improve patients’ wound care in clinical, education, and research settings in both Brazil and Canada.

In Brazil, she established wound care clinics that remain functioning and to which she continues contributing her unique clinical expertise.

In Canada she has been working tirelessly to enhance individuals’ engagement in self-management of chronic wounds and advance wound care practice and outcomes. She developed a theory that explains how individuals engage in everyday self-management of chronic, hard to heal, wounds and uncovered the socio-economic factors facilitating or limiting their engagement.

Dr. Costa’s program of research at Lakehead University has focused on addressing the social determinants of health affecting for vulnerable populations (e.g., older adults, Indigenous) living with chronic conditions such as diabetes and preventing its consequences (e.g., foot disease and limb amputation).

She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals and lectured nationally and internationally to raise awareness to achieve better outcomes in chronic care by understanding the role individuals with chronic wounds play when actively engaged in every day self-management.

 “The literature recognizes that individuals with chronic conditions are in control of their life and every day, while at home and away from the eyes of health-care professionals, they need to make decisions about their own care," Dr. Costa said.

"When we implement a collaborative care approach and places them as active subjects in their own care, they are able to achieve better outcomes and feel great satisfaction with their well-being.”