Canadian Virtual Hospice/CAPO Award for Progress in Palliative Care Excellence in Psychosocial Oncology

The Canadian Virtual Hospice would like to establish an award to acknowledge the exemplary work of psychosocial oncology professionals and students, in collaboration with CAPO.

The purpose of this award is to promote progress in research, education and clinical practice in the area of palliative care and the dissemination of information related to the psychosocial care of individuals receiving palliative care. The award is given to support oncology professionals in continuing education activities.

This annual award will be presented to a CAPO member who submits the best poster or oral presentation in the area of palliative care at the annual CAPO conference. The presentation may reflect clinical practice, education or research related to palliative care.

The award would consist of a $500.00 honorarium to be used to support the recipient’s continuing education, and a recognition certificate.

Video of CAPO conference award winner and CAPO member Jacob Lang

2025 Canadian Virtual Hospice Award for Progress in Palliative Care

Congratulations to 2025 award winner, Chunlin Liu

Past Winners

• 2024 – Sheila Killoran 
• 2023 – Sarah Alonzi 
• 2022 – Jacob Lang
• 2020 – Sarah Rose Black and Rickinder Sethi
• 2019 – Cheryl Nekolaichuk, Covenant Health/University of Alberta
• 2018 – Sabrina Gaon, Mount Sinai Hospital
• 2017 – Marianne Arab

2024 Canadian Virtual Hospice/CAPO Award of Excellence in Grief Support in Psychosocial Oncology

The Canadian Virtual Hospice would like to establish an award to acknowledge the exemplary work of psychosocial oncology professionals and students, in collaboration with CAPO.

The purpose of this award is to promote progress in research, education and clinical practice in the area of grief and the dissemination of information related to the psychosocial care of those experiencing grief. The award is given to support oncology professionals in continuing education activities.

This annual award will be presented to a CAPO member who submits the best poster or oral presentation in the area of grief at the annual CAPO conference. The presentation may reflect clinical practice, education or research related to psychosocial/supportive interventions or programs targeting grief and/or bereavement.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Must be a current CAPO member in good standing. The award is open to all classes of CAPO members.
  
• The member must attend the conference to be eligible.
  
• Must have submitted a conference abstract in year being awarded:
  
• • The abstract cannot be sponsored by a commercial organization, nor can it promote a commercial product or advertise a specific program.
  • The abstract will have a focus in psychosocial palliative clinical practice, research or education or research, education and clinical practice in the area of grief and the dissemination of information related to the psychosocial care of those experiencing grief
  • The abstract may be in the format of an oral or poster presentation.
• The winner(s) must agree to have their name(s) released as winner(s) of the award.

Evaluation & Processes

• Entries are selected based on a search for key words submitted during the abstract submission process, then verified for CAPO membership status. Judges will be notified of entries meeting this criteria prior to evaluation.
  
• Under the direction of the Award’s Committee Chair, a subcommittee will judge all submitted abstracts at the conference to select the recipient according to pre-specified criteria developed by the awards committee.
  
• The Awards Committee reserves the right to not award the prize in any given year if suitable abstracts meeting the criteria are not found.
  
• This award is presented annually. If more than one person submits the selected abstract, the award will go to the first submitting author unless CAPO has been notified by the submitting author that one of the other authors will be the presenter, in which case the award will be given to the presenting author. The recipient must be a member of CAPO.

Past Winners of the Canadian Virtual Hospice Award in Grief Support

• 2024 - Alanna Chu – An update on the implementation of the Fear of Recurrence Therapy (FORT) group intervention in 5 cancer centers across Canada