In the category of best doctoral thesis of this fourth edition of the awards, a total of five nominations were presented.
The fourth edition of the Immaculada Sastre Miró Social Commitment Awards has recognized the thesis of Judith Queral Añó, a postdoctoral researcher from the NFOC-Salut group (https://www.nfocsalut.com/). This award is granted by the Equality and Social Commitment Office of the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) and is divided into three categories: best undergraduate thesis, best master’s thesis, and best doctoral thesis.
In this edition, a total of 16 applications were submitted: nine in the undergraduate thesis category, two in the master’s thesis category, and five in the doctoral thesis category. The awards aim to highlight research projects that address a social need defined in collaboration with a non-profit organization or social entity and that propose social improvements.
The doctoral thesis of Judith Queral, titled “Participatory research as a new approach to making decisions and increasing active engagement in health interventions for effectively improving healthy lifestyle behaviours”, is part of the European project Science Engagement to Empower Disadvantaged Adolescents (SEEDS) (https://seedsmakeathons.com/). This project is coordinated by the IISPV and has involved collaboration with organizations such as Cáritas, the Departments of Education and Health of the Government of Catalonia, and the Tarragona Provincial Council.
The thesis is based on the premise that healthy lifestyle behaviors are influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including barriers and facilitators, and that their identification through participatory research can provide an opportunity to adapt strategies aimed at improving these behaviors.
Through four publications, the thesis aims to demonstrate participatory research as a potential and innovative approach for decision-making based on the intrinsic and extrinsic factors of the target population, while also increasing engagement in interventions focused on improving healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Salvador Grané, director of Caritas, and Francesc Xavier Rius, member of this entity, attended the award ceremony, where Rosa M. Solà, head of the NFOC-Salut group, internist doctor at the Sant Joan University Hospital in Reus and teacher at the URV, Elisabet Llauradó and Anna Pedret, members of the NFOC-Salut group and teachers at the URV were also present.
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