In May, Diabetes Action Canada (DAC) awarded the first ever Catalyst for Change Awards to three Patient Partners.

The Catalyst for Change Award celebrates Patient Partners who have made outstanding contributions to advancing patient-oriented diabetes research and care, embodying transformative achievements in our community.

The 2024 winners are:

Kate Farnsworth – Mom of a daughter with T1D and supporting a family member with T2D, champion for DIY and other technologies to improve outcomes for people with T1D, and a longstanding member of the DAC Innovations in Type 1 program team.

Ryan Hooey – Person living with T1D and vision loss, advocate for increased accessibility and a member of DAC’s diabetic retinopathy screening program team.

Matt Larson – Person living with T2D, advocate for those experiencing diabetes and homelessness, and a long-time member of the Campbell Lab’s project aimed at improving outcomes for those experiencing homelessness while living with diabetes.

As with all DAC programs, Patient Partners were at the heart of developing this award and co-designing the nomination and selection processes.

“Our Patient Partners had requested this award for years,” says Patient Engagement Lead, Linxi Mitkolli. “We, as a team, did scoping and research on how other networks and organizations all over the world honour their patient partners. Then we brought the ideas to our Patient Partners to co-design how we would implement it.”

Patient Partners helped determine the nomination criteria, ensuring it was transparent and clear, and were part of the selection committee deciding. They participated in every step of the process, including suggesting and supporting a panel discussion by the winners at the DAC Workshop to give Patient Partners increased voice at the event.

Nominations were open to all members of the DAC community, including researchers, Patient Partners, and staff. Self-nominations were encouraged and appreciated.

Congratulations Kate, Ryan and Matt!